Operation phoenix Pathway to rapture
by Ajay46
Summary: Redo of ITI. The chosen one is destined to save the world… the chosen THREE- not so much. Placing the fate of the Pokemon world in the hands of kids is risky business- especially when fate has poor judge of character... Lemon
1. Alpha

I do not own Pokémon. Pokémon is a licensed trademark of Nintendo or something like that so just don't sue me. It's free publicity. Nintendo should be paying _me_.

The lo-down: Suzy Black was once brave. She was energetic and so full of life… now she hardly speaks a word. Thomas Black was once an easy-gong child. He played and laughed and was kind… now he's fallen in with the wrong crowd, and nothing is easy. Alex Black was once an irritable, grumpy child… now his perpetual smile and reckless disregard for others is reason enough to keep anyone away. Three children. Once normal- something changed them over the years. Something is changing them…

And they won't like the truth.

Motherless and left for dead in the hands of a selfish bastard of a father, they've learned to rely on each other- but when the shit hits the fan, they're going to learn something about themselves they never could have anticipated…

The rapture is coming- and somebody has big plans for the Black children…

**First one ascends to contain the ark**

**The second remains to open the gate**

**The third joins the first when ascension embarks**

**And races them through the wait**

Chapter one.

**ALPHA**

α

Because every legend has to begin somewhere…

One for the clock, to keep time in stride,

One for the void that exists alongside,

And one more exists- he who we try to hide:

The one who rules over the opposite side.

Night. Night was a strange thing. This night was different from the norm. The usual day-to-day, night-to-night rush of passer-by cars and pedestrians ceased. There was no particular reason for this occurrence, they just did. It was a quiet night. Nobody was around, and the figure had all the time she required. A single light flashed on alarmingly, sensing movement approaching. The tiny figure reached the doorstep, stopping quietly. A hood hung over her head, hiding her eyes from view. She had moved in too fast and wasn't noticed by any nosy civilians who would be curious of such a tiny figure, and carrying such fragile parcels in her arms.

Jarod Black. Explorer. Traveller. Successful treasure hunter, now retired, reclined peacefully in a lazyboy leather seat. His thin locks of brown hair hung down over one eye a little, falling free from their fixed position to their natural sitting. The hair lifted and fluttered back a little as he blew at the locks. Ever since receiving his first Pokémon at ten, Jarod had travelled the world in search of greatness and fame and fortune. Eleven years later, the greatness and fame had yet to come. Fortune was something which found its way to Jarod, as was adventure. If the world knew of all he had discovered and witnessed, he would have been hailed as a legend, but alas-

_**Knock, Knock.**_

Jarod reluctantly removed himself from his position, striking the mute button on the remote in his hand before effortlessly tossing it onto the seat behind him.

'Who is it?' His voice was rather rough. He strutted confidently, unopposed in his domicile. He bent over, lining himself up with the little peep-hole in the door. All he could see through the hole was the obscured image of a light depraved tree at the end of his walkway. Through a number of painfully memorable experiences, Jarod knew opening a door in this situation was not a good idea, so he wasn't going to. He gazed through the peep hole for a few last prying seconds, then withdrew and turned away to return to his night.

'_Aaaabbabiibbiggiaaaa!_' Jarod stopped on one foot, balancing precariously as a short high pitched joyful squeal sounded through the door. His head turned cautiously, his dark eyes stared as if willing himself to see through the solid oak. 'Aaaayyibbiaa!' He turned on his heel, pacing rapidly back towards the door his hand slid into the back of his trousers, re-emerging soon clutching a small handgun. Holding the pistol close to his body, pointing at the door, his free hand snapped open a deadbolt and twisted open a lock. He pulled the door open, stepping quickly out; his eyes darted back and forth before spotting something before him. He stepped aside quickly, landing on a bad angle. He collapsed with a loud curse, his shoulder hitting the wooden deck roughly as he winced at the impact.

'What the hell i-' Something warm rubbed against his cheek. Jarod opened his eyes, suddenly feeling a lot calmer, his teeth unclenched as he saw what it was.

'Iggibigaboooo!' The infant drabbled happily, his chubby hand prodding randomly at Jarod as he stared in shock. Jarod sat upright quickly, curiously gazing down at them. Three of them. One's hair- what little it had, was a golden blonde. The second's was a darker hazel, and the third's was an immaculate white, like snow. Tucked inside the collar of the last's sprightly white baby jumpsuit, was a scrap of paper, torn from somewhere. Jarod reached out unsurely, halting halfway, and picked up the baby. The baby made a little grunt noise as Jarod's hands lifted under his armpits and sat him in his lap. He scooped the seconf up in his free arm and placed it in his lap, then did the same to the third.

'What are your name's kids?' He asked with a faint grin, picking the scrap of paper from the last's collar and unfolding it.

'Awiesg!' That baby muttered.

'What? Was that… I?' Jarod queried, his head cocking as he unfolded the paper.

'Aaaaaaaa!' The blonde cried with a huge grin, clapping its hands a bit.

'All right then I…' Jarod held the paper to his eyes, angling it to catch the light above his porch. 'Let's see…'

" _Jarod. I know that's your name. I remember. I concede to a lapse of common sense myself, and I must ask for your forgiveness in doing this. I know this must be a surprise for you- but Jarod, these are your children"_

'Woah…' Jarod shook his head quickly and looked back at the babies.

"Bwubu!"

They were still there. They were real. After a few of dumbstruck paralysis, he finally willed himself to go on.

" _I am in no position myself to raise a child, as you will fully understand when you realise who I am. This is why I have bestowed these three upon you, to raise as your own. I shan't lie to you. It will be a great responsibility. These children are not like others, and I pray you may realise their potential and allow them to live under your wing. See the white haired one? He has your eyes Jarod. Look into those beautiful eyes and tell him you won't look after them…_

_Eiyvanaa."_

That name struck a chord with Jarod. Jarod scooped the three in close to him and stood cradling them in his arms. The children took his sleeves and clung to them, yawning cutely in turn and one-by-one falling asleep… All the while Jarod was lost in thought as he went back inside…

**Eiyvanaa… Eiyvanaa… where did I hear that..? **Jarod racked his brain as he replaced himself in his seat. **Eiyvanaa… "You may call me Eiyvanaa-"** Jarod lurched forwards in shock as his heart stopped briefly, his eyes wide open and staring with awe-filled confusion straight ahead, remembering where he had heard that name. He knew who it was. "My god…" Jarod had no doubt about it. These were his children, and he knew who the mother was. "**This child is not like others? Well there's an understatement.**

'Hey you! hold on there!' The small black-clad figure paused unsurely, turning to see over her shoulder. At the end of the alleyway she had just run into, was a man. His tall frame was the opposite of her short round one, and his outline was illuminated by a dull street light.

'Chansey?' The Pokémon asked as she backed away fearfully, bumping into a dumpster as she did so. Another two men emerged from the street into the alleyway and the three advance as a wall, cutting off any escape. 'Chansey!' The Chansey cried as she turned and ran, but stopped short in her stride as she was faced with an inconvenient wall cutting her off. There were no doors she could find as she searched the area frantically, panicking as the dark men approached. She could see the shapes trailing behind them, growling quietly. Mightyena.

'Settle down you.' The leading man in the middle said, raising one hand to halt the Chansey in what attempt she may make to escape. 'You have nothing to worry about, just give them to us and we will leave you.' Chansey looked down at the empty blankets she carried in her hands, and unfurled them, holding them up for the men to see they were empty. 'Shit!' The first man took a few steps forwards quickly, snapping his fingers for his Pokémon to advance. 'All right. Here's what you're going to do.' He hissed as he leant down to Chansey's height. The Mightyena's face emerged from behind him, growling still and glaring. 'You're going to take us to wherever you left it.'

'Chansey!' The Pokémon shouted defiantly, shaking her head. She cried out as the man suddenly sunk a boot into her stomach brutally, and then froze as the man thrust the barrel of a concealed desert eagle into her mouth, pointing up into her head.

'Where is it?' His voice exuded calm menace as the Mightyena circled him at his feet.

'…Chansey…' The other two men turned away a bit and closed their eyes as a loud gunshot rang out, the sound of the discharge ringing in their ears as it echoed.

'We're done here.' The first man said ultimately as he replaced his handgun in its holster. He turned and began back toward the others as his Pokémon dived at the dead Chansey and sunk its teeth in.

'But what about the-' The other man trailed off suddenly as the first man glared.

'There's nothing we can do. It's already gone.' The man looked upwards. He could see the moon in the gap between the rooftops above him. It was difficult to see tonight.

It was a new moon.

**Very few differences in the first chapter. Just changed it a little to suit the new characters. This is the last time I do this- everything else is being totally rewritten.**


	2. Pictures of imperfection

Chapter 2

Pictures of imperfection.

[ ] - [ ]

Once we were happy.

Then sun turned to rain.

Perfection turned crappy

And pleasure to pain.

Alex sat on his bed. He was quiet today. It was normal for him to have periods of quiet, but he had not spoken a word all day. He held four photographs in his hands- two in each. The sweat accumulating at his fingertips stuck to the glossy surface, obscuring the image only slightly under the distorting fluid.

Alex sighed a deep sigh and moved his thumb away so he could see the pictures. The first was dated "2000" at the bottom, typed onto a white panel at the bottom of the picture. Next to this it read: "(Left to right), Dante (Persian), Alex Black (5), Suzy Black, (5), Jarod Black (26), Thomas Black (5)." Above this white label and set to a backdrop of fresh spring foliage, a man and his children, and Pokémon posed for the photograph. The oldest- Alex's dad, stood just to the right of the middle. He crouched between him and his brother with an arm wrapped around each's neck, grinning outrageously. On the right of Jarod, Thomas, the one with a head of long hazel hair spilling over his face- he smiled equally widely, flashing a content peace sign with the hand which was not wrapped around his father. On the left, Alex saw himself. Tiny little him, huffing with a great scowl and crossed arms- obviously not content at all. His dad's hand rested on his crown, ruffling his bleach-blonde hair infuriatingly. To the left further- a girl this time. She let one arm rest on the back of the cat beside her, and the other clutched a stick, holding it high like a great sword as an indestructible grin stretched her lips. Her hair was a brilliant red, shining spectacularly. Alex swore for a moment he caught sight of a glimmer in the tiny girl's eyes, but turning the picture slightly he noted it as a trick of the light as a gleam would skim across the surface.

He placed the photo with great delicacy on the bed next to him. It was the best picture of the lot, but the others were still important. He looked down to the second now, resting in his palm. Everything seemed to have eased into uniform. The children's ages read seven this time. Each stood tall, at attention even and bearing forced smiles that the photographer had forced on them after much groaning and whingeing. The backdrop was the same. The foliage had fallen and regrown a few times, but it was the same place in essence, whatever happened to it physically.

He placed this photo beside the first, then turned to his other hand, where the final two rested. The one on top was dated another four years after- when they were all eleven. Alex, Suzy and Thomas were present. Their father was not. Each seemed to have managed a wan smile at the photographer's persistent nagging- but anybody could see right through it.

With great reluctance this time, Alex slowly set aside that photo, revealing the final one beneath. It was dated last year- when Alex was sixteen. There was him, and beside him was Suzy. Nobody else. He had his arm wrapped around Suzy's shoulders, hugging her close to his body with an honest grin. Suzy's lips formed a sparse, pale smile- but it was all too fake. Perhaps she felt just a little comfort, but there was nothing for her to be happy about. There was nothing for her to look forwards to.

Alex's head jerked as the door clicked, pulling him free of his melancholic daze with the sudden activity. His rigid face eased again as he saw who it was, and he turned his gloomy stare back to his photographs. "Hey, Suzy." He didn't look her in the eye, but he lifted his right arm invitingly and moved the pile of photographs to the other side of his body. Suzy took the offer with a silent nod of gratitude, and sat beside him. She slid across the covers toward him, and lay her head on his shoulders. Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her tightly against him. He took a moment to bend around, and kiss her on the forehead, rubbing her side gently as he did. "I'm just looking at these pictures." He lifted the pile and offered them to his sister. She shook her head quickly, and the hand resting across his torso tightened on his shoulder. "Alright then." He placed them on the bed next to him and leaned his head against Suzy's. It was a tender moment- she held her head against him, listening to the sound of his heartbeat; he rested his head on hers, feeling her chest rise against and fall away from his as they embraced. He knew it comforted her. It comforted him too, to an extent. "Are you okay?" It seemed pointless as Alex knew the answer, but it was generic, and showed his concern.

Suzy's head moved a little, but in no discernible nod or shake. Just a shrug- the kind that suggested she didn't want to admit how she felt. Alex sighed again, shaking his head and looking to the window on the other side of their little cubicle. It wasn't small, but it wasn't exactly big enough for everyone. One window was set against a north-facing wall, looking out into the back lot of their property where withered plants hung limp and dying in seas of moist soil and bushes were sparse skeletal constructs that seemed to be so brittle that the faintest touch would shatter them like ice. Cold crowns of thorns and barbs they were; there was not a sliver of green amongst the entire fence of gorse. The winter's full fury had descended, and already its frigid winds had choked the life out of everything it could get its murderous hands on.

"I can't wait for the snow." Alex added, only to further the one-sided conversation. "I like the snow." He felt Suzy's grip on his shoulder tighten for a second, and she nodded in agreement. "It sparkles… it's a nice sight, the garden swamped in snow and the roadsides flooded with the beautiful stuff. Sure, it's freezing, but there's something warm, fluffy and secure about it."

"It's cold." She said suddenly, yet without haste. Her speech was slow and remorseful, but held a curious undertone for all its depressive weight. "Snow is cold, but it is beautiful. I like snow."

Alex nodded as he watched out the window too, and smiled. Suzy's voice- what would rank high as one of the most depressing and sorry sounds known to mankind- brought Alex nothing more than pure joy. Sadness was preferable to silence- silence was the worst sign. Suzy had gone silent before. A day without speaking was fine. Two was normal, as was three, even four or five. A period of silence would be a week without saying anything, and that was when Alex knew something was up. When Suzy reached that point, Alex would remain close at hand until she would speak again… she hadn't tried anything yet, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Yeah." He agreed as they watched, imagining flakes tumbling from the overcast heavens and blowing around in the wind, then settling on the grass. "It is, isn't it?" Suzy nodded with a murmur; she half-stifled a shiver.

Alex turned to Suzy again, frowning a little now. "Suzy, you should put some clothes on. You'll get a cold." Alex's naked sister shook her head reluctantly- she wanted nothing more than to put her clothes back on, but she couldn't. As if Alex could read her mind- sometimes he swore he could: "Why not?" Suzy nodded towards the doorway, then dropped her head against Alex's shoulder again with a murmur. "Jarod?" She nodded slowly, and sniffed.

Alex bit his lip, and placed his free hand on his sister's shoulder. He wanted to tell Suzy to put her clothes on. He wanted to tell her "fuck what Jarod says"; that he would protect her from him. Then again, he couldn't even protect himself. What was the use? "At least jump into bed to keep yourself warm. You should have a sleep."

"Get up!" Suzy leapt at the intrusion; Alex held her down with a much calmer _shush_, and patted her shoulder. He turned around with a less-than-pleased expression, not bothering to hide it.

"Jarod." He grunted. "What now?"

"She's coming back." The man decided, strutting into the room. His eyes were dark and dull green- holding little in the way of remorse or regret. His face was warped with a perpetual scowl; his brow indented by a constant furrow, visually ageing him by several years. "We aren't done."

"Suzy's done." Alex disagreed, standing up and releasing his hold on his sister. "She's had enough, Jarod. Leave her be."

"I decide when she's had enough." Jarod shot back gruffly, his voice hoarse and guttural with irritation. Jarod make a sharp gesture to Suzy. "Hurry up." Suzy scrambled off the bed and ducked around Alex's back. Without thinking, Alex shot his hand out and caught hers as she passed, grabbing her wrist. She spun around as she felt the tug; her face fell into a mask of fear as their eyes met, and both froze. Alex's frown softened as her eyes melted him- begging him.

"Alex…" Her opposite arm moved slowly across her body, and to where Alex's hand gripped her. Her fingers gripped his fingers, and she pried them away a little. "There's nothing you can do. Let me go or you'll cause trouble for yourself." As Alex went rigid, she lifted his grip gently. His arm lost all feeling as soon as he lost contact, and it fell limp to his side as he watched his sister move towards Jarod.

Jarod's stare didn't twitch in the slightest; it seemed devoid of any human emotion. He only turned over his shoulder and watched stiffly as his daughter slipped through the doorway behind him, and disappeared into the dim-lit corridor beyond. He turned back to Alex once she was gone, but still in earshot. "You're pathetic."

"I'm past caring." Alex had lost all will to argue through his years. He never won, and only ended up being hurt.

"Grow some balls." Jarod crossed his arms and cocked his head with a mocking sneer. His next line was a vile hiss- mocking and ill-intended: "Or a cunt, and make some money like your sister there."

Fortunately for Alex, another person emerged from the corridor behind Jarod right before he could open his mouth. The person answered for him as he passed Jarod. A fist swung heavily from nowhere, and crashed into Jarod's jaw from the side.

Jarod yelled in astonishment, reeling sideways as the newcomer entered. He wiped his bloody lip with his wrist in a daze, but upon regaining his wits he set upon the newcomer with a fist raised.

"Try it, old man." The newcomer bit back before Jarod reached halfway. Jarod stopped halfway, identifying the newcomer. He staggered back a little, but swaggering with profile equal to the other's.

Alex shot a glance over his shoulder at the photographs on his bed, staring at one person in particular, then turning back to the action. Thomas had grown since those photos were taken. _Really _grown. His boyish brown mop, once ungainly and sprawling over his face, was braided behind his head. That round soft face that identified children everywhere was sharp and slim, and his eyes- once sparkling and bright- were now dark and direct with small pupils.

His attention shifted elsewhere as he noticed Suzy peeking around Thomas' back, looking concerned and conflicted. Thomas was occupied with his stare-down with Jarod, but felt Suzy's presence behind him, and moved forwards so she could slip behind him. She dashed back to Alex's side quickly, and fell onto the bed beside him, grabbing his arm.

"I told her to get back to work." Jarod said flatly, approaching Thomas slowly.

"_I_ told her to come back here and rest up." Thomas met him halfway. Neither needed to stand taller- their heights were equal and the menace between them was evenly balanced. Thomas' shoulders were set wide apart and his arms were muscular, but Jarod's scarred face and prickly, bald scalp compensated for what intimidation remained to be matched.

"What are you saying, boy?"

"I ain't saying nothing, pops." Thomas replied levelly, matching his dad's indifference. They stared for a moment longer, each challenging the other with subtle, quiet grunts and very small head movements. They reached some kind of silent stalemate, and both turned away simultaneously. Jarod strode back out the doorway again, and disappeared into the corridor as Thomas headed further into the room. "You two okay?"

"We're fine." Alex nodded, watching a black shape zip around the corner hurriedly into the room. An Umbreon threw a short glance over its shoulder around the edge of the doorway at Jarod, then jumped through the doorway before it was seen. "So- what have you two been up to?" His last syllable fell a little short, dropping off as he realised. Alex looked at the Umbreon. The Pokémon sat down and looked away intentionally, nearly going red in the cheeks. Alex looked at Thomas. Thomas returned a stark glare without a fraction of the embarrassment his Pokémon displayed.

"Heh…" Alex grinned a little at the two. "Have fun with that?"

"_Uuum!"_ The Umbreon dropped onto its stomach and buried its face beneath its paws, groaning with embarrassment.

"Don't tease her, Alex." Thomas prodded his Pokémon with a toe. "He was just kidding. Come on. Get up Umbra."

"Eon…" She pawed playfully at Thomas' foot, then re-covered her eyes. She wasn't going to budge. Alex grinned a little more. He knew it was an act- this type of situation was a weekly thing. He sprung off the bed and onto his knees in front of the Pokémon.

"_Aaaw-_"

"Eon!" Umbra swiped at Alex's hand and leapt backwards as he tried to ruffle the fur on her head. Alex sat back on his heels and grinned further.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed!"

"Uuu_uuuuumm…"_ She growled a little in her throat and stared him down through slit-like eyes, like a Seviper's glare. Alex threw his arms wide, still grinning.

"Hug?" He suggested hopefully.

"Umbreon!" Umbra leapt forwards at the mention of "hug", and tackled Alex right over backwards. He wrapped his arms around her back as he was bowled onto his back, and held on tightly as Umbra smothered him with licks all across the face. "U_mmmmmmmm…"_ She purred as he scratched her back and she wriggled her belly against his stomach.

Suzy smiled a little, and eased herself off the edge of the bed and onto the floor alongside. She put a hand on Umbra's head and scratched a little, smiling a bit as the Pokémon reacted by nuzzling into her palm.

"Aaw, who's a fluffy-fluffy?" Alex laughed as he held her face between his hands, scratching with his thumbs.

"Um!" She wriggled free and dived for his face again. Thomas chuckled a little and his composure relaxed, resting against the doorway.

"Are you good with taking care of Umbra while I head over town?"

"Huh?" Alex grabbed Umbra's face and pushed her away again, looking to his brother. "Why can't you take her with you?"

"I don't want the guys to see her." Thomas shrugged a little, trying to make the matter appear smaller than it really was. "They'll think-"

"Right…" Alex nodded slowly as it dawned on him. He managed to keep a straight face even as Umbra tried fervently to break through his hands by butting them with her nose. Alex looked sideways a little at the dim corridor his dad had left through. The walls were bare and painted white, barely reflecting the pale fluorescence cast from the ceiling. His gaze held for a few seconds as he thought about Thomas' reasoning. "I get it…" He stared for a little longer, picturing where Jarod would be if he could see through the walls. "I get it."

"They don't even trust me alone with their Pokémon." Thomas sighed and closed his eyes. To be so distrusted- like he was- was a miserable feeling. "They're supposed to be my mates but they won't leave me in the same room as one of their Pokémon for five minutes."

"Well… they do have a point." Alex added after much effort to get the words out. Thomas' eyes snapped open again and stared hard at Alex.

"What do you mean…?" Alex managed a nervous grin and shrugged, playing it down as he realised his mistake.

"Well… you and Umbra-"

"Are a completely different case." He snapped as he made his advance. Umbra leapt aside quickly as soon as Thomas shouted and backed away from either party. Her ruby eyes trembled. This again.

"All right, all right." Alex scooted away a little on the bed, holding his hands up in defence. "Different case entirely."

"Damn right it is!" Thomas stopped, clenching his fists at his side as his anger boiled down. He pointed one thin finger violently. "Remember that next time." He spun on his heel and stormed out of the room, leaving it static behind him. Suzy was a little stunned and seemed to have paled even more. Umbra had covered her face behind her paws and was groaning. Alex seemed indifferenced either way, and knelt back on the floor again.

"I'm sorry." He sighed and patted Umbra's head. She cocked an ear and removed one paw to peek at Alex. "You understand, don't you? You understand where I'm coming from?"

"Umbreon." She sighed and nodded, sitting upright again. Alex smiled a little further. He was glad Umbra was understanding, even when she was half the reason he became annoyed.

Alex sat up on his bed again and patted his lap. Umbra took his offer readily and leapt up. She lay across both Alex and Suzy's laps, and settled there with a purr.

"She's just great." Alex remarked with a grim smile. "Makes you question how Jarod does what he does."

Suzy shrugged as she rested an arm on Umbra's back and stroked her. She murmured something along the lines of "I don't know" and fell silent again.

Alex watched her for a while as she sat still, staring at the floor. He noticed how her eyelids hung half-shut, and how her head hung. "Suzy, get some rest. You're tired." Suzy shook her head a little. "Yes, Suzy. Go to sleep." She shook her head again, this time looking at Alex. He stared, but she fought back with a staunch glare under her eyelids. "Suzy." He said slowly this time, but spoke in a darker tone. "Go to sleep. You need it." She shook her head slowly now, still glaring.

Alex sighed, and reached an arm around her neck. Her eyes flew wide and she made a lazy grab at his wrist- but he pinched the back of her neck before she got him. Her arm dropped to her side and her head snapped back at the sharp pinch, staying there.

"Suzy, you're going to sleep." Alex instructed calmly, pinching a little tighter. Suzy reopened her eyes and glared at Alex out of the corners of them, mouthing something with a quite whisper. "You are. Umbra will stay here with you, won't you Umbra?"

"Um?" Umbra's head perked up and she turned over her shoulder. "Umbreon." She nodded once.

"Umbra will stay beside you, okay?"

"_No…"_ Suzy tried to shake her head, but her body stopped responding. _"I'm not tired… I-"_

"Ss_sssh…"_ Alex placed a finger to her lips, silencing her. He wrapped his free arm around her opposite shoulder and pulled her to him, hugging her. "Sleep…" He said as he buried her head against his torso, pinching harder. _"Sleep…"_

One long, final moan barely escaped Suzy's throat as the last of her strength died, and she passed out against Alex. Alex placed one hand under her right thigh and lifted her legs onto the bed, then eased her head back onto the covers. Umbra shuffled along the bed and lay beside her, resting on her side. Alex stood back and watched the two for a moment, smiling, then reached over the bed and folded half the blanket across the two. "Sleep tight." He whispered, backing towards the door. He grabbed a satchel from the end of his bed and headed out. His fingers found the skirting of the doorframe and held him for a moment, letting him watch the two a little longer, then finally let him go.

He slid into the corridor and headed left towards the front door, set with the muffled light from outside glowing in its panes.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jarod emerged from a doorway as Alex passed. He paid him little heed and continued on his way.

"Blowing shit up." Alex said over his shoulder as he took a jersey from a coatrack beside the doorway and pulled his arms through the sleeves. He paused halfway through the doorway as he left. "Later." He closed the door behind him.

Alex checked his watch as he headed down the path to the front gate. 4:03. He had time to hit the library first. He headed north-east from his house, pacing along the edge of the footpath just where it dropped into the gutter, and walking quickly. His slacks protected him from the winter's bite. White as the snow they were, and baggy enough that they wouldn't hinder movement. His jersey too was white, striped with green on the shoulders and down the sleeves and front. Under that was his usual azure singlet he wore nearly every day, washing it week-to-week. Everything was loose on him, hanging comfortably with plenty of room whether the look worked or not- he didn't care. Fortunately for him, it worked.

He reached the library just after 4:13. The front double doors were closed, offering shelter from the howling winds that battered the building. He didn't bother to go inside. He stopped at the side of the doorway and dug into his satchel, then removed a stack of books from inside. Origami 103, Today's bullet, Modern firearm, Military engineer's field guide, a series of martial arts manuals and Advanced Pyrotechnics. The final book was much larger. He heaved it from his bag and held it in front of his face with a grimace. Twilight. He shook his head pityingly, and with great pleasure forced the book through the slot. "Plague me no longer, vampire angst." Turning around and heading back to the footpath, he made a note of never listening to Haley's book suggestions ever again.

He headed west from there and into another residential area. He headed north along Dustman Crescent, carving clear through the centre of the block and ending in a cul-de-sac. He spotted his destination at the end of the road. And old house that looked like it had been built in the thirties, knocked down, glued together again like a smashed Airfix model and repainted white afterwards. He pried open the flaking gate and began the treacherous journey to the front door, avoiding all manner of overgrowing weeds and vines crisscrossing the path. Out of the corner of his eye, he even spotted a Tangela hiding between two bushes. It glared at him from the darkness within its mass of tentacles and waved a tentacle with as much menace as it could muster. Alex felt an immediate urge to light it on fire, but he brushed the thought aside and ventured to jump up the steps and onto the porch. He proceeded to the door, and rapped on it sharply three times, and stepped back.

After a minute of waiting, Alex spotted a hunched shape through the opaque panes of glass bordering the doorway. A small click was to be heard, then a voice finally greeted him.

"Go away." Raspy, grouchy and unpleasant in every way.

Alex sighed and patted his thigh. "Is Jacob in?"

"What?"

"Jacob!" He called at the peephole. "Is Jacob in?"

"Oh… you." The peephole shut again. "JACOB! THAT BLOODY KID'S HERE AGAIN! GET RID OF HIM!" Alex stifled a chuckle at this.

"Mum! He's my employee! Let him in!"

"WHAT? YOU HAVE A JOB?"

"Yes mum! I've had a job for years!"

"Then what are you still doing in my bloody house?" With a grunt and a grumble, the lady finally drew free the deadbolt holding the door shut, and threw it open at Alex. Alex caught it as it flew at him, and skirted around the edge of it, following the old crone as she retreated into the depths of her lair, still grumbling about Arceus-knew-what. As she disappeared around a doorway further up, a man in his late twenties slipped past her. Slipped being an overstatement- he barely fitted through the doorway on his own.

"Seems she keeps forgetting this is _my_ house." He laughed as he came down the corridor with open arms and a grin almost as wide as he was. "Hey Alex. Right on time, amigo."

"What?" Alex shook his head.

"Amigo?" Jacob repeated hopefully. "It's Mexican for friend."

"_Ahem_." Alex crossed his arms and glared. "What's "Mexican"?"

"Uh- Unovan." Jacob corrected himself, going a little red. "Unovan for friend. What's Mexico? I don't know any region called-"

"Just stop." Alex halted him with a hand held outstretched. "Let's just get to work."

"Right, right." Jacob turned awkwardly and lumbered towards a door at the far end of the corridor. Alex followed him into the back yard, where once again he was introduced to the wind's chill. "A little chilly today, huh?" Jacob said as they proceeded towards a wooden shack at the corner of the section.

"Yeah, a little." Alex agreed. "It'd be nice to have a good fire going to keep us warm."

"Yeah, but the guy hasn't come with our firewood supply yet." Jacob grunted.

"Are you sure?" Alex pointed ahead. "Then what's that?" Jacob turned, then turned again to follow Alex's finger to the shed.

"We're not setting my lodge on fire." He said, his grin dropping right off his face.

"Dude, it's a shed."

"There's a bed in there- that makes it a lodge."

"If you insist." Alex sighed and followed Jacob into his "lodge".

It was hardly a lodge. The thing was only one square room, maybe five metres by five metres. Part of these five metres was occupied by a long bench running the west wall. The north-east corner was packed with a myriad of wooden barrels, each spilling small piles of powder onto the floor around it from gaps in the wood. The south east corner contained Jacob's bed, sinking substantially in the middle where he would sleep. The room's two sources of light were a window set in the north wall and a light bulb hanging from the roof, connected by an extension cord to the main building on the property.

Alex tilted his head back as he shut the door behind him, sniffing the air. This brought a faint grin to his face as he searched the interior. He chuckled a bit as he strode into the centre of the room.

"Love the smell of gunpowder in the afternoon…"

**There you have it- the real introduction. Next comes the creepiness…**


	3. I'm a morning person

**Sexual content warn.**

**You have been warned.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

Chapter three

A morning person.

Drift into hell

Now you know it so well

Where will you go to when you fall asleep?

*12:31 PM*

_Each step landed quietly, echoing endlessly through water and muffled by its thickness. Alex searched the nothing engulfing him- of course, there was nothing to be seen. He simply continued walking further into infinity, expanding endlessly into the invisible horizon._

"_Alex?"_

_He looked down. Below, the dark pool rippled where his feet settled. Each ripple rose and expanded as a perfect ring, then shimmered away into the dark distance. Behind this ripple, in the reflection of the sea of darkness, was the world. Skyscrapers and towers rose into the reflection of the sky below him, slicing through the grey heavens passing at remarkable speed. Sole to sole, foot to foot, a reflection of himself stared back from the other side. Alex looked up again, searching once more. Nothing. There was nothing around him to be reflected, but still there was the reflection of a city right at his feet. He looked down again, looking to a tower next to him. Tracing it in the reflection, he made his way toward it, hands out and searching. His reflection reached it and touched it with his hands. Alex felt nothing, and kept going… his reflection didn't. Alex's first foot lifted away from that of his reflection, then his other. They were separate._

_Alex staggered backwards again, away from where the tower should have been. There was nothing but black where the tower's base touched the pool. Nothing on his side. Alex finally knelt, falling to one knees and staring at the reflection. His other self on the other side approached, and sat near. His other self gestured: come here. Alex inclined his head curiously, and reached his hand towards the surface. It touched the water, but he didn't feel that cool wetness he had expected. He kept pushing his hand, further into the pool._

_His eyes flew open at a sudden dryness wrapping his fingers. He withdrew his hand quickly, and it was engulfed by coolness again._

_That wasn't a reflection in water. HE was the reflection! He was under water._

_His mouth clamped shut as water rushed into it, gagging him suddenly. He clapped a hand over his mouth as the air thickened into liquid, and crushed him from every angle. Panicking, he flailed his limbs and rolled to face the right way, and threw a hand at the surface. It hit what he thought to be the surface, and stopped. His eyes flew wider; he accidentally lost a breath with an expulsion of bubbles from his sealed lips in his shock. He threw both hands at it, attempting to break the surface of the water, but it was solid. He was trapped, and drowning._

_His reflection stood up again, grinning maniacally as he watched Alex struggle, knowing fully well he couldn't break free. Alex was just a reflection. He couldn't get out. He was trapped in his world of reflection, and he couldn't get away._

_Alex gagged- wheezing as his breath ran dry. No sooner had his paling lips parted, water surged to the attack, engorging him in a second. He tried to cough- he tried to hurl it out- but it choked him… it rushed into him, and killed him from the inside…_

_His senses flashed to life- the engorging dark waters rushed up again, sucked by a sudden vacuum. Alex snapped his head back, staring up as he felt a surge of water rising up from beneath him. Above, a black shape launched from the shadows of the great tower and crashed into his reflection. The reflection howled in horror as it was struck, and with a dying screech vaporised into a pallid wisp of darkness once more and blew away in a passing wind._

"_Umbreon!" Umbra barked at him through the surface, swinging her tail around behind her and lighting it with silver energy. "Um-" She lifted it high as Alex felt the rush of water force him towards the surface, "-breon!" She swung her tail down._

_The surface of the water exploded inwards, shattering and smashing down like a pane of glass being hit by a truck, and the water threw Alex at the surface, and through to the other side…_

"Aaa-" Alex launched halfway out of bed as reality crashed back down onto him. His senses returned hurriedly in his panic and he instinctively tried to throw himself upright.

"Um." He stopped as a paw landed on his face, instantly calming him. A wave of cool washed over him from the point of contact, nullifying any desire to move or do anything at all. Alex collapsed back into his mattress- paralyzed in a sense by his reluctance to move.

"Thanks Umbra." He said through a relieved exhalation, managing a faint grin of gratitude. "That really helped."

"Umbreon." She replied, nuzzling into his neck with a purr. Alex had asked Thomas to let her sleep beside him tonight- now he was thankful for doing so. He eased her gently off his chest and into his lap as he sat up, searching around. Thomas stirred a little with a grunt, but appeared still asleep. Suzy looked like a statue- barely moving at all.

Alex and Umbra sat watching her, both wondering the same thing. What did Suzy dream about? Did she dream of a better place than this, were life was fair and just and kind to her, or did she suffer night terrors of her past experiences where she was raped, beaten and abused without escape?

"Umbreon-Umbreon?" Umbra suggested, nodding to Suzy. Alex's mind flashed a little, and an image of Umbra sleeping beside Suzy crossed his mind.

"No-" He said quickly, alarming Umbra by his haste. "Please… don't." He wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tighter, resting his cheek on her neck. "I don't want you to leave me tonight. You said you'd sleep with me… please don't leave."

Umbra watched his face with great curiosity as he closed his eyes and hugged her. She had never seen him like this before. Never. Nothing seemed to faze him at all, except this.

"They get worse." Alex added, fingering her neck lightly. "They come so much worse than that. If you could stop them… I'd appreciate that so much."

Umbra nodded shakily, still staring at his face with a stunned expression. Alex lay back on his pillow, and with his hands clasped behind her neck he drew Umbra's head down with him, onto his bare torso. She rolled onto her side and shuffled about a bit to get comfortable, and to position her head so it lay where she could hear Alex's heart. That sound was something she enjoyed. The steady, healthy beat of life.

They lay that way together for just a few moments before Alex again interrupted the silence.

"Well…" He yawned and banged his head onto his pillow with a slight grin. "Looks like I can't get to sleep now."

"Umbreon…" Umbra lifted her head up as her eyes sparkled azure.

"No." Alex said quickly, throwing a hand over his eyes. "We tried that, remember? Hypnosis only works on me once a night. I'll have to stay awake." Umbra thought back with a murmur. She remembered.

Every night she had to use hypnosis to drop Alex. She had to get him when he least expected it- he wouldn't let her do it willingly and he didn't fall asleep on his own- he would just lie in bed fully awake. It was only now she realised just why he didn't want to sleep- but he still had to. Sometimes if it got too late and Alex didn't give her an opportunity, she had to get Thomas to hold him down while she hypnotized him. The time Alex referred to was following a particularly strange dream he had- one during which he managed to wake up. Umbra made an attempt to hypnotize him again, but it gave him an instant migraine instead, and he spent the rest of the night groaning in pain, keeping everybody awake.

"(Dammit.)" Umbra released her hypnosis glare and fell back to the bed. "(We have to do something.)"

"I've slept… what? Five hours tonight?" Alex shrugged. "That's enough."

"(You have to go to sleep, Alex.)" Umbra nagged, pawing at his knee through the sheets. "(You know what it does to you in the morning if you don't get any sleep.)"

"I don't need any more sleep." Alex added. Umbra groaned and her ears drooped. Of course Alex didn't want to go to sleep. If he had it his way, he would stay up all night until he fainted from fatigue the next day. But it was still her responsibility to get him to sleep.

"(Faint!)" She realised, perking her ears up suddenly. A smile crept to her black lips as another idea came to mind.

"Don't get any ideas, Umbra." Alex sighed and sat upright. "I've had my sleep tonight. There's nothing else you can do to make me sleep."

"(No. We don't need to make you _sleep_…)" She grinned wider and sat upright.

Alex's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the way she smiled at him. "What are you doing…?" He asked warily.

Umbra coughed- clearing her throat, then opened wide. A low, sonorous note hummed from her throat as her eyes shut gently, vibrating the air and resonating quietly. Umbra swallowed the sound, then made another, this one higher in pitch, but still quiet enough that only she and Alex heard. She proceeded quicker now, rising and falling in pitch as she launched into an eerie, ominous song.

Alex sat rigid as he listened, transfixed by the beautiful sound. So dark and gloomy, yet so heavenly and glorious- he couldn't focus on anything, it took all of his attention listening to every note… then he realised.

"Oh- Arceus no!" He gasped. Umbra ignored him and continued, following a practiced vocal routine she had learned a year back. "Umbra- no, don't…" He begged her, placing a hand on either side of her neck. "Stop…" He pleaded, suddenly panicking. "Umbra, stop it!" He hissed. "Stop it now!" Umbra shook her head slowly as she continued, ignoring a tremendous rising feeling of guilt as Alex begged her for mercy. "Please… stop…" He sniffed, nearly tearing up as she continued mercilessly. "Umbra, for the love of Arceus, let me stay awake this one time… please…"

Umbra echoed her final note without mercy- the lowest of the notes she could make, then closed her mouth. "(It is done.)" Alex groaned and fell back into his pillow, beating the mattress with his fists.

"That…" He sniffed. "Perish song… wasn't it?"

"(Yeah.)" Umbra nodded and lay beside him, resting her head on his shoulder to comfort him. "(You'll pass out soon, just relax, hon.)"

"How long do I have awake?" He asked, even if he couldn't understand whatever answer Umbra might give him. His face was streaked red, singed by his tears of terror. He didn't know how long he had before he was thrown back- tossed into his nightmares once more. The anxiety was killing him. "How long…?" He begged again.

"(It doesn't matter.)" Umbra crooned as she lay against him, closing her eyes. "(Just relax, honey…)"

"How long…?" He whimpered, going limp on his bed as his mind raced. "One minute, two minutes? How long do I have?"

Umbra clenched her eyes tighter, trying to ignore him. Every word was torture- every question was another nail stabbing at her soul. It was okay enough when she caught him by surprise most nights. He would glance at her, she would hypnotise him without warning and he would pass out. Thomas would carry him back to his bed and leave him there. No protest, no pleading, it was quick and painless for her. When he awoke in the morning, he was so glad to be awake that his smile would ease what little guilt Umbra felt. He was just so glad to be alive. But when he begged her and when he pleaded her… when his anxiety and unease and terror ate away at her- she couldn't take it. It was pure torture. She had to do something.

She began licking his face as they lay together, stroking up his cheek to his ear and back again. Alex didn't respond in any way, other than asking again: "How long? How long, Umbra? I have to know…"

Umbra sighed again and pulled her tongue away. That wouldn't do it. She had to distract him. She drew her head away and searched about the room. Thomas asleep, Suzy asleep- both were deep sleepers. In the corner was her pile of spare blankets where she would lie, against three walls were beds, underneath each some drawers full of clothes. There was nothing in the room to provide a distraction. Only her, and Alex.

"(Oh snap.)" She sighed, looking back to Alex's face. She had one idea, but she didn't know how it would go down with Alex. "(Hey… Alex…? Honey?)" She gingerly shuffled over his torso, laying on his stomach face-to-face with him. He stared back, appearing gaunt and lifeless in the darkness. "(I'm going to do something… I don't want you to panic. Just relax…)" She stood again, standing on his stomach. She turned around and poked her head under the blanket and burrowed under the covers.

"Umbra… what are you-" His last word ended as a breathless squeak as he felt her nose poke against the waistband of his boxers. "Oh no- Umbra- stop." He reached out and placed both hands on her back. "Umbra… no."

"(Oh, please.)" Umbra paused for a second to roll her eyes. "(Grow up, Alex.)"

"Don't give me that tone." Alex sighed frustratedly, briefly his old self again. "I don't care what you and Thomas do together- that's not me." In reply, he received a sharp smack across the face from Umbra's tail. "Hey! Bad girl!"

"(Yeah, yeah. Bad girl routine.)" She sighed again, quickly becoming impatient. "(You say "bad girl", I say "I'm a _really _bad girl", I know how this goes- stop treating me like an idiot.)"

"Umbra- I'm serious. Stop." Alex ordered.

"(_Uugh!_ Why?)" She groaned. In truth- she had already worked herself up, and she didn't want to stop now. Whether Alex knew it or not, he _was_ aroused. She could smell it, and _hell_ did it turn her on.

"Stop!" Umbra yelped as he growled at her. She quickly spun around again, re-emerging from the covers red-faced.

"(I'm sorry…)" She whined, lowering her head so she didn't see his eyes. **Stupid, stupid!** She beat herself up inside. What was she thinking?

"Umbra…" Alex crooned softly now, stroking her neck as comfortingly as she lay on his stomach. "Come on… you know me better than that…"

"(I know…)" She whimpered sheepishly, remaining still as Alex's other hand stroked just above her tail.

"I'm not going to let you do that to me." He stated.

"(I under-)" Umbra ceased up with a stifled yelp as Alex's hands tightly gripped the fur of her neck and just above her tail. She raised her eyes slowly to face him, still flattened against his stomach. His grin was a kind she had never seen before. Sly, sharp… dirty.

"But the things I'm going to do _to you…_" He hissed with dry mirth, still holding his stare on her eyes engagingly. Umbra yelped again as she felt something press between her legs. Something hot and wet.

Her breathing rate heightened immediately, and suddenly she was gasping for air. The temperature- either the room or her- increased tenfold, and her heart raced. She didn't know how this had happened, but somehow Alex- the stoic, apathetic and friendly boy she had known her whole life- turned into something of an animal.

He grinned wider and shook his head is sweet disbelief, still stroking Umbra's neck lightly. He leaned forwards a little, as close to her ear as he could get. _"You have no idea how long I've wanted to fuck you…"_ He chuckled a little, pressing his cock a little further against her hindquarters, provoking a high-pitched squeal of pleasure. He dropped his head again, revelling in the sweet sound of her pleasure- music to his ears. "All these years, it's been Thomas and you… just fuck, _fuck, fuck!_ I've been waiting for my turn with you…" Umbra squealed again as he pressed the head of his cock just between her lips, a shudder of pleasure racking her entire body from tail to nose. Alex himself grunted a little, his fists balling while clutching her fur as the pleasure hit him. "Arceus you're a tight little thing…"

"(Arceus, you're a huge bastard…)" Umbra moaned in return, letting herself slip into a blissful abyss of arousal. Alex- one of her best friends ever- was about to fuck her. One of her strongest desires for a long time now. Everyone else was asleep and wouldn't wake up- the door was locked so nobody would intrude- it was a perfect moment. Her and him alone, together and intimate.

"Umbra…" He said with a heavy exhalation, his breath scorching her nose, warming her face. "Umbra, whatever happens next, just know you're so important to me…" He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her into a tight hug, touching as much of her body as she could. She held her breath for a moment, cocking an ear to his thunderous heartbeat.

He slid his other hand to the base of her tail and gripped around it in his forefinger and thumb, and pushed her hindquarters down as he thrust.

Umbra squealed briefly, barely stifling herself as she was penetrated- her lips spread apart by Alex's cock. He moaned and fell limp as the pleasure incapacitated him- Umbra's tight walls arousing a shock through his entire system. Humans, by the feel of things, were much better endowed than Umbreons, judging by how Umbra's pussy seemed to hug him from every angle, so tightly Alex had to place both hands near her tail and force her backside down onto him. She squealed louder through the whole process, suddenly not-so mindful of the room's other occupants.

Her resistance only held Alex off so far, and with a sweating, rough effort he heaved downwards, and thrust, burying most of his length into the horny Umbreon with a wet squelch and a sharp gasp from both. Umbra collapsed immediately after the penetration, panting heavily as her arousal raced her own heart. Her fluids leaked from her cunt, dribbling around her engorged clit and down Alex's cock.

"_You're so good…"_ He growled in absolute bliss, fingering his grip on her fur. One hand slid along her back, playing tantalisingly on her fur, then gripped the back of her neck, and forced her down to lie her torso and head on him.

She moaned as Alex pushed her down, his cock grinding across her walls as she moved. He held her neck tighter, gripping it like a Pokémon would bite their mate's neck. For Umbra- it stirred an innate urge, suddenly. Her body being forced into classic presentation position, her neck being held to immobilise her, a great cock buried in her hindquarters- she nearly forgot where she was as a primal lust simmered somewhere at the back of her mind, begging and screaming for satisfaction.

"_Uuum…"_ She moaned, rocking her hips against the thick intruder. Her efforts were rewarded with another all-consuming shock of pleasure as her walls stretched and contracted around it. Suddenly it withdrew- its girth dragged itself across her protesting walls, working its way free of her cunt again. She was about to cry in protest- to beg for it to be put back in, but it was one step ahead of her, and Alex drilled her yet again, forcing the head of his cock back through her folds and deep into her cunt, relentlessly driving her sensitive passage open. More fluids gushed from her lips as the pressure forced it free, coating the remainder of Alex's cock.

He repeated with a grunt, drawing his manhood free and driving it back into the Pokémon's soft interior, back into her passage and parting her lips again around his thick shaft. And thick it was- he was proud of himself. Umbra on the other hand, was nothing short of praising Arceus for the girth the entire while (with what little of her brain was still operating properly), and was hell-bent on enjoying it for however long she could.

She began to move in time with Alex after she overcame her immobilising pleasure- lifting her rump as he withdrew, then rocking back onto it as he thrust, sinking as deep onto it as she could in a desperate attempt to fill herself. She ploughed on- undaunted by the upcoming threshold of consciousness, which upon reaching, she knew she would pass out, and likely do so in a compromising position. She forced the thought from her mind and kept at it, riding Alex's cock hard as he thrust up into her, combining their efforts to penetrate deeper and deeper every time, opening up gate after gate of new, deeper and greater pleasure with every centimetre more they managed. Alex's head was flat against his bed, his back arching with every thrust to fuck Umbra deeper and deeper every time- but it just wasn't enough. He just couldn't get the entire thing in there- he couldn't shove it in and break through her cervix like he craved, absolutely filling her tight channel with his meat, where he could fuck her senseless and into submission.

He growled and threw his arms around her back, throwing her sideways. Umbra squealed a bit as they rolled over, Alex moving over top and her facing upwards. He planted one hand on either side of her, and using his body to spread her legs apart, fucked downwards into her. Umbra yelped and bucked in this new position, Alex actually thrusting down into her this time, using his weight to bury his meat into her exposed cunt. He lay down across her, pinning her body down with his as he continued, shaking the bed with every great thrust.

He slowed his thrusts just for a moment, gathering his strength, then threw himself onto Umbra, heaving his whole cock into and past her black lips. Umbra bucked again as she felt her cervix split and Alex's head stab through the barrier into her womb. Alex buried his face into the mattress beside Umbra's head and roared into it, muffling himself as he fucked away into the newly opened tightness of two entrances constricting his cock. Umbra fell totally into his power- she arched her back and spread her legs, helplessly loosing a long moan as she was relentlessly drilled and her fluids splashed from around her swollen clit. Her head jerked back as she felt Alex's hand land just above her vagina, and his thumb press onto her clit, rubbing it as he fucked her.

Her moan heightened for just a second, reaching a sharp pitch as she orgasmed, shuddering crazily all over as the waves of pleasure beat through her entire body. Fluid gushed from about her clit as it was molested mercilessly, splashing across Alex's hand and cock. Feeling her cervix and walls tighten in a vice-grip on his cock, Alex tapped into his last reserves and fucked harder, hammering away at the newly tightened pussy. Umbra's fluids splashed out around his cock with every thrust, soaking his thighs, before he finally came himself. He wrapped his hands behind her back and dropped on her, burying his cock and hilting in her, unloading deep into her womb. He humped at both entrances, milking himself into her womb as she broke down into a post-orgasmic wreck, shuddering and moaning as she rode out the final stages of her orgasm.

After a moment of lying together, Alex finally withdrew, receiving a gasp from Umbra as he did. He rolled off her and onto his back with a gasp for air, limbs splaying out lazily as his remaining strength depleted. Umbra rolled onto her side, moaning a little still as she opened her eyes.

"How... about that…?" Alex asked breathlessly, flashing her a smile.

"(You… are… brilliant.)" She purred and nuzzled into his neck, totally content. "(Oh, sweet Arceus that was fantastic… we have to do that again sometime soon…)" She lifted her head a little. "(Huh Alex?)"

He didn't say anything. His head lay sideways on his pillow, and he didn't move. He had passed out…

*Next morning*

Alex tapped his fingers on the edge of the basin as he stared. His reflection in the bathroom mirror copied him perfectly, staring back and imitating his movements with exact synchronisation. His hair sat like a churning, rolling ocean of black on his head after his restless night, and the soulful hazel of his irises was shining once more. Still… He reached out towards the pane, eyeing himself cautiously. He gingerly touched the surface after pausing for a second, and his fingers met the cool, unmistakeable touch of glass. Glass. Just glass. Nothing irregular or sinister.

Reassured he wasn't still trapped in his nightmares, he twisted the basin tap on and grabbed a small plastic container from the edge of it. A single label identified it- Alex Black.

Alex unscrewed the lid and upturned the container. A thin dusting of white powder landed in the centre of his palm. Alex clenched the capsule in his hand and held the container in front of his face, inspecting it curiously. He shook it a little, but there was no sound of pills rattling about inside. Empty.

He placed the container beside the basin again, and threw what little he had remaining down his throat with one quick flick of his head. He didn't give the usual medicinal taste time to kick in, and scooped up a handful of water from the basin and gulped it down immediately afterwards. He hoped it would work. One capsule barely lasted twenty-four hours, barely seventeen judging by how he had behaved with Umbra last night; he didn't know how long he would last on just the scrappy leftover powder from the broken ones.

He wiped his mouth with his wrist and flicked the tap off, grabbing the empty container as he went. He flicked the bathroom light off as he went, enshrouding the room in the early morning darkness that came with the season.

Still clad sparsely in his pyjamas- a pair of cotton boxers and a white singlet- he waded into the early morning slump that signalled the coming school day. He wiped his still-wet hands up his face and through his hair as he yawned, taking in the scene with a little freshness as the icy water stinging him tended to focus him better.

Jarod sat at a round table in the centre of the kitchen, sipping coffee and with a plate of food in front of him. He grunted intently as Alex passed behind him. Alex stopped and turned to him with an unconcerned grunt of his own. "Very clever." Jarod grumbled, leaning aside. Over his shoulder, Alex spotted his plate of food, and strips of bacon arranged into a series of shapes which appeared remarkable like "fuck you =)".

"I made it especially for you." He laughed, and continued towards the bench where another three plates rested. He stopped and placed both hands on the counter, taking a deep breath. He always hated speaking to Jarod- _especially_ about this. "Jarod. I'm out."

"What?" Jarod grunted. Alex heard the grating and scraping of a knife sawing against a plate.

"I'm out of my… medication." An awkward silence followed. Alex's head hung a little and he bit his lip, waiting nervously for Jarod's reply.

"I'll get you some more." Jarod replied in the calmest, softest voice he was capable of using. His own head hung even, and he too fell silent.

Alex nodded quickly, and stacked the plates of food in his arms. He turned and made a hasty exit from the room, trying to separate himself from Jarod as soon as possible. He paced quickly along the corridor, and turned to his door. He kicked the bottom of the door with his toe. "It's me. Open up." He heard a deadbolt being drawn back, then the click of the lock coming undone.

The door swung inwards for him, held by Thomas. Alex nodded to him as he entered, stepping around him as he closed it behind Alex. Thomas immediately fastened the bolt again, shutting the four in together.

"Breakfast's up." Alex handed Thomas one plate, which he took with a grateful nod, then headed towards Suzy at the other end of the room. She sat on the furthest bed from the doorway. Three piles of school books were set out nearby: one on her left, one on her right, one on her lap. "Breakfast, Suzy."

Suzy nodded without looking up. She took the middle pile of books and slid them into a satchel at her feet. She took the strap and offered it to Alex as she took her plate. They made the exchange, and Alex dragged his bag across the floor towards his bed, plate in hand.

His uniform was laid out on his bed already. Grey shirt, navy blue shorts, red tie on top of that. The sleeves of the shirt were folded neatly behind it, and the tie lay curled up in the centre of it.

"Nice folding, Thomas." Alex laughed as he striped his boxers off.

"Shut up." Thomas grunted, prodding a strip of bacon with his fork.

"…Dude." Alex spun around. Thomas looked up and shrugged. He was well past the point of being embarrassed by seeing his brother naked. He got over it a long time ago. "Where's my daks?" Thomas stared at Alex for a moment longer, blinking twice.

"Idunno." He shrugged.

"Dick- you're supposed to get them. Where are they?" Thomas shrugged again, appearing indifferent at the moment. "Fuck you're useless." Alex smirked. "You don't expect me to walk around with this thing hanging out the bottom of my shorts all day?" He pointed between his legs with a falsified scowl.

Suzy grunted at this, rolling her eyes and mouthing something.

"I doubt that would be a problem." Thomas bent over and reached under his bed, where a displaced drawer hid away. He pulled it out and grabbed a pair of white undies. "You forgot to put yours in the wash basket. _Again._" He added intentionally. "Just chuck these on." He tossed them at Alex, who caught them in one hand.

"Thanks _mum_." Alex smiled in thanks, and stepped into them. "Damn- these are tight!"

"Shut it, Alex."

"Seriously!" He continued as he pulled the waistband around. "How do you fit your dick _in _these?"

"Shut it." Thomas growled.

"Just jokes, man." Alex grinned defensively at Thomas' scowl. Thomas scowled harder, and picked a piece of bacon from his plate. He drew his arm back, and flicked the piece at Alex when he turned around to pick up his shorts.

From her hidey-hole amongst the spare blankets in the corner, Umbra appeared like a bolt of lightning. She launched herself as the meat was halfway through its trajectory, and snatched it out of the air with her mouth. Upon landing, she quickly jerked her head backwards and flicked the strip into her mouth.

"Umbreon!" She chirped cheerfully as she chewed, lying on the carpet and facing Thomas with a great smirk. It was a little too much for Thomas, and her smile melted his scowl into a helpless grin. She was adorable- they all thought so. Jarod, not so much, but to Alex, Suzy and Thomas, she was a part of the family.

Thomas slid off his bed to a knee and petted her head as she ate. She swallowed quickly, and proceeded to lick the remaining grease from his fingers with a purr.

Alex noticed this, and an impish grin broke the surface. "Having fun there?"

"Huh?" Thomas blinked at Alex. Alex's smirk widened, and he nodded to Umbra as she sucked his finger, trying to get all the flavour she could. "Um… Umbra…?"

"_Mmm?_"She opened one eye as she continued, sucking his finger in a compromising way. She knew what she was doing. She closed her open eye again, and went further, taking his entire middle finger into her mouth with a soft groan as she suckled it.

"Hey-" Thomas jerked his finger away, growing red in the face at Alex's laughter. "-No." Umbra rolled her eyes as she sat up.

"(Fucking hypocrite)" She grunted, looking over her shoulder at Alex, then to Suzy. She couldn't work humans out. So long Thomas had praised her for doing the same, but whenever Alex or Suzy was nearby she was suddenly being bad?

Though, even that didn't stop her usually. She would still do things to annoy Thomas, solely because it was funny. She spotted another opportunity for food as Alex tapped the ground and snapped his fingers for her approach. "Wanna pat?"

"(Hell yeah!)" She trotted across towards Alex and nuzzled into his hand with a grin. If she played her cards tight, she might even sneak another bacon strip in.

She did. She was smart like that. After changing tactics a little and a lot of rubbing against Suzy's leg, Suzy surrendered two pieces of meat to Umbra's awaiting maw, which she devoured ravenously.

Alex, Suzy and Thomas said their goodbyes to Umbra as they left. A lot of hugs all around before the humans departed from home. As they headed through the kitchen they noticed Jarod's absence. Jarod's absence only meant bad news…

*10:43 AM*

"Alex, are you going to do something?"

Alex lifted his head with a grunt. Over his shoulder he saw his science teacher approach. Ms Maryland was a bright person. Her pristine white lab coat seemed perpetually clean, her safety glasses which always framed her eyes were spotless and her constant grin would never falter in the slightest.

"I'm sorry?" He shook his head quickly and turned to face the woman.

"You see, Alex-" Ms Maryland leaned to peek around his shoulder at a Bunsen burner dancing with a blue flame behind him, "Magnesium isn't an element which reacts with air. You can't leave it on the desk and expect it to do something."

"Yeah… I get it." He nodded and returned to his experiment, but was conscious of his teacher's presence behind him as he did so. He clasped the strip of silvery metal between the tongs and waved the strip over the flame.

"No-" He heard a sigh, and a hand gripped his wrist from behind. He allowed the hand to guide his arm holding the tongs so that the metal was bathed in the fire. "Hold it there. Don't move it around."

"Sorry. I forgot that." He held his arm rigid in the same position as his teacher released him and headed for another student.

The metal seemed to shimmer momentarily, and immediately afterwards it combusted. A burning white light pierced through his safety glasses as the metal was overwhelmed by a flash of fire. A thin plume of pale smoke drifted from the singeing magnesium, but quickly disappeared into the air. It was over no sooner than it had begun, and all Alex had left was a crumbling scrap of material which vaguely resembled paper.

"Hey, Alex…" Came a harsh whisper. By the tone he identified it as female, but he couldn't narrow it down any more than that. Alex ignored it, and began scribbling down details on a sheet he had been given. "Alex…" The whisper persisted. "Alex!"

"Yeah?" Alex looked up and to his side. He smiled slightly as a blonde girl his age sidled along the desk towards him. Her bleach-blonde hair was tied in a ponytail behind her head, and she was a little on the short side, but the size of her smile was epic. It caught a little on Alex, and he found himself grinning back.

"What's the answer to three?" She shuffled closer and stole a glance at Alex's sheet. Three was blank.

"What substance has been formed?" He read. He looked back up and shrugged. "Powdery shit?"

The girl's grin twisted into a frown. "Is that your expert opinion, Alex?"

"Fine." Alex rolled his eyes. "Some _white_ powdery shit."

"_Uuugh!"_ The girl rolled her eyes also, and wandered away. "You're no help." Alex smiled a little wider and mouthed something, then looked back to his sheet.

"It doesn't matter. It's burned. Dead." He grunted.

"It has formed a new substance." Ms Maryland appeared from behind again, casually leaning on the desk beside Alex. "It's not dead at all; you know what they say about Ho-oh?"

'Nup.' Alex shook his head, leaning back on his counter beside his teacher. He could see a student performing a test on the other side of the room with an Ampharos standing behind, looking over her shoulder.

"They say when Ho-oh dies, he comes back new from his ashes. That's like a reaction. From the ashes comes something new." She explained. Alex stared back with a little confusion.

"That's a fucking stupid analogy." Alex grunted.

"I think it's a perfect Analogy." Ms Maryland replied, still smiling despite Alex's language. "Something new rising from the ashes from something else. The first is destroyed- but it comes to life again."

"Stupid analogy." Alex maintained as his teacher left again

"Magnesium Oxide." Alex's head jerked up a bit as he heard Suzy. She approached from his right and fell against the counter beside him, arms crossed. Her long ginger ponytail dandled from the back of her hair and off the edge of the counter. "It's Magnesium Oxide." She managed a faint smile. Academics was her strong suit, and solving every problem that Alex couldn't work out was something she took a little joy in. Anything she could do to help him brought her some kind of happiness.

"Thanks, Suzy." Alex smiled back and nodded, and wrote it down. She sidled a little closer, watching over his shoulder as he dropped the tongs in favour of his pen. He worked through the remainder of the sheet without trouble- most of the remaining questions could be worked out easily from the answers to the first three. Suzy watched over his shoulder the whole time. She had finished ten minutes ago.

Alex had just scribbled down the last word to question eight when the shrill ring of the school bell interrupted. He shoved his equipment back into its cubbyhole beneath his counter and folded his loose pages into his book, then shoved that into his bag as he headed for the door.

Suzy caught up behind him, jogging to reach him. "Library?" She asked quietly as she fell into line, moving at a walking pace.

"Lunchtime?" Alex asked without looking across. Suzy shook her head. "Now?" She nodded. "Alright then."

Alex led the way through the corridors with Suzy in tow. People shifted aside for him to pass and Suzy slipped through the paths he made. With a few exceptions such as Haley- the blonde girl-people just stayed away from Alex. He wasn't particularly agreeable in general. He ignored most of the school populace, he showed no consideration or respect for anyone save his own family and he never gave in to others' opinions. Alex plus team equalled fail. Then- the rumours and stories about his dad really didn't help his reputation. Most of the school saw him as a dickhead, a creep, a psychopath (in accordance with further rumours) or all of the above.

And he couldn't care less.

They spent the next twenty minutes together in the library. Suzy claimed a corner spot at a small booth beside a window as Alex scanned through the shelves along the non-fiction aisle. Suzy tapped the window idly with one hand as her other held her book: The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. She looked up as Alex returned, arms piled with heavy-looking books. He dropped them onto the seat beside Suzy and followed suit himself, resting his arms along the back of the seat. He grabbed the top book and spun it to face the right way up. Suzy leaned across a little to glance at the title.

"Hm." She smiled a little, and went back to her own book shaking her head.

Alex looked up with a frown. "What?" He shrugged defensively. Suzy's grin widened a little, but it was still a pitiful effort compared to anybody else's smile. Alex's scowl deepened and he turned back to read the title again. The wonderful world of pottery. "What's so funny?"

Suzy shook her head and shrugged elaborately, going back to her own book. Alex watched her for another moment, waiting for her to make another crack at him- but it never came. She sat still and silent, immersed quickly in her storybook world. She surrounded herself in the world of fantasy. **"Fantasy…"** Alex thought as he watched a little longer.

"Middle earth." Alex murmured, drawing Suzy's attention back. "I've read that. Middle earth… sounds like a nice place, huh? I mean, sure- there's wars and killing and all that, but it seems like a nice place. Calm rivers, lush forests… sounds nice, doesn't it?"

Suzy smiled in return, and nodded a bit. Alex turned away, staring at the ceiling and tossed his book aside with a softening grin. The white roof warped and transformed in his eyes, reshaping as a picture of unmatched beauty. "I'm going to get that one day." He whispered dreamily.

Suzy cocked her head, displaying her confusion.

"A nice, beautiful world. A new, better world. I'm gonna get that for you one day." He turned his head a little and looked at Suzy from the corners of his eyes, still smiling. "You deserve better than this. You deserve some peace and beauty."

Suzy simply mouthed something short, and she turned back to her book. Alex blinked once and turned his head to look at her properly. He could have sworn her smile just grew… just a little…

*1:00 PM*

Following interval, Alex and Suzy embraced briefly, and went their separate ways. Suzy headed to biology while Alex headed to the art room. He passed Thomas along the way, and they exchanged words briefly before they continued to class. Fourth period, Alex and Thomas found themselves together in Physical Education. They spoke most of the period, to the annoyance of their teacher, Mr Millard. At lunch time, Alex left his backpack in the gym changing sheds and followed Thomas onto the field.

At the furthest corner, half-a-dozen guys sat in a rough circle, all chatting. Thomas waved a short gesture as he and Alex approached, marking their arrival.

"Dude." A boy at the opposite side of the circle frowned as Alex and Thomas sat. "Don't bring him."

"He's my brother, dick." Thomas snapped back. "He can go wherever the fuck he wants."

"I can talk for myself, Tom." Alex sighed and leaned back on his hands, smirking. "I'm Alex, dick. I can go wherever the fuck I want."

"Just bugger off Alex." Another sided with the first, glaring at Alex. "Nobody likes you, so go fuck your sister or whatever it is you two do together all the time." A few guffaws rose from about the circle, but Alex's grin didn't falter in the slightest. He held his stare on the one who spoke, his contagious silence spreading like wildfire throughout and killing the laughter quickly.

"No." He said.

"Tom, nobody likes him. Get rid of him." Another finally came to their senses, appealing to Thomas now. Thomas sighed and turned reluctantly to Alex.

"You should probably go." He conceded, but with a grimace. Alex just shrugged, and stood.

"Whatever." He turned and began towards the gym at the other end of the field, ignoring a few late insults thrown after him. Thomas watched him go for a while, ignoring a sinking feeling of guilt, then turned back to his mates.

"Leave him, guys." He advised levelly, trying to maintain his "cool" and position with the guys. "He's got enough on his plate without your shit."

"Thomas, I get he's your bro- but he's a dickhead." The same rebutted. "What's with the creepy ass grin, anyway?"

"Don't even ask." Thomas fell onto his back and folded his arms, staring at the sky. "I asked him once, and I'm never going to ask him again… not with _that_ answer he gave me…"

Alex headed quickly across the pavement along the side of the gym. Suzy was probably in the library again. He'd find her again and sit beside her for the rest of lunchtime.

He sidled around the edge of the doorway into the changing room and made a right. He stopped. He stood still for a moment with his head cocked, listening intently to a something on the other side of the row of lockers next to him. He made a soft step forwards, still listening to the noise. His foot landed silently, and he continued. He crept along the row of lockers right to the end and poked his head around the end.

Two guys. One had longer hair to his shoulders and had his arms crossed, watching the other with mirth. The other knelt just at the bench where Alex's bag sat, and was writing something with a permanent marker. Neither had noticed him enter yet. He was quiet.

Alex watched curiously for a moment, an impish grin rising to his lips. He ducked back around his side of the locker row and out of sight again. He walked to the opposite wall and grabbed hold of a small fire extinguisher which had been installed last year after an incident involving deodorant and a match. He weighed the cylinder in his hand, then set off back around the corner of the lockers. As he went, he reached a hand into his pocket and drew out a metal lighter. The thing was metallic silver, highly polished with a pair of gold-gilded Seviper curling around it. In the eye of each, a tiny, perfectly cut ruby glinted coldly. Expensive looking and solid.

Alex hung back, close to the locker row behind the standing boy. Alex had luck on his side- the boy was half-turned away from him. Perfect. Lighter in one hand, fire extinguisher in the other, he began towards them quietly. He had practiced moving quietly, and his steps made not a sound as he advanced, grinning maniacally.

The kneeling boy stood again just as Alex ignited his lighter. The boy replaced the cap on his marker and grinned at his handiwork before turning to his buddy.

"All done- shit!" As the second boy spun around, Alex lashed out with his lighter hand. His fist caught the boy dead in the stomach, and the flame leapt to his shirt as the punch connected. Alex slid back in retreat as the boy's arms instinctively flailed at his torso- a sudden scream shearing through the silence. He dropped screaming to the floor, punching and slapping wildly at his shirt and desperately struggling to tear it off.

"DO SOMETHING!" His friend screamed in a panic, jittering and shaking in a frenzy as his mind raced, trying to work out what to do and tearing at his hair in terror. Alex stepped forwards much more calmly, without the broken composure of the other two, and grabbed the fire extinguisher in both hands. Suddenly, he swung up. The second didn't even see it coming he was too busy panicking over his friend. The base of the cylinder collided with his head, making a dull sound on impact. His flailing ceased, and he dropped unconscious to the floor. Alex spun the extinguisher in his hands and grabbed the top, finally spraying a wave of foam across the burning boy. He swept the wave left and right over them, emptying the canister over both of them with a growing grin.

He dropped the canister and grabbed the first boy by his long hair. He knelt and hauled the boy's head up so it was face to face with his. The other's face was red and hot, tears flooding from his eyes to the tune of a pathetic whimpering. "Hey, look at that." Alex mocked venomously. "I saved you. I'm a fucking hero." With that last insult, he drew his head back, and swung it forwards viciously. His forehead struck the bawling boy's nose, breaking it and knocking him too unconscious.

Alex dropped him and stood again, kicking any foam he had stood in from his shoes. He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed out with a bittersweet grimace. It seemed his medication hadn't lasted as long as he had hoped.

*3:30 PM*

Thomas was first off the bus. He waved briefly to his mates as he hopped down the steps, then headed up his driveway to the house. Alex followed close behind with a dreamy grin, and Suzy close at his back. Nobody had learned of Alex's stint in the changing sheds yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Thomas released a lengthy sigh as he threw open the front door, and he dumped his backpack beside the doorway. Alex tossed his alongside, but Suzy carried hers with her.

"Fuck- Ms Maryland's annoying." Thomas moaned as they entered their bedroom. In the corner, Umbra quickly lifted her head as she heard the three enter.

"Umbreon." She smiled and trotted towards Thomas, tail wagging behind her. Thomas walked past and dropped on his bed with a grunt.

"She's a good teacher." Alex shrugged as he followed and fell onto his own bed. He patted his knee, and Umbra quickly ran to him. "Plus she's hot."

"She's full of shit. Self-righteous bitch." Thomas went on.

"She gave you another detention." Alex laughed as he patted Umbra, who was standing on her hindlegs with her forepaws on Alex's knees.

"She's a bitch."

"You're just retarded and can't get work done." Alex laughed as Umbra licked his fingers, tasting the remnants of some kind of meat from lunchtime.

"Fuck you." Thomas grumbled and stood, storming towards the door.

"Where're you going?" Alex called as Thomas disappeared around the corridor.

"Downtown." Thomas called back, and continued towards the front door at the end of the corridor.

"Hey!" Alex leapt off his bed and made a hasty dash after his brother. "Thomas, hey, I'm sorry."

Thomas stopped with one hand on the door, wide open in front of him. "Yeah. I know." He turned over his shoulder, not frowning, but with an expression of great weariness. "I was going to go out anyway, I just saw getting angry at you as an excuse. Sorry."

"You don't need to make excuses." Alex told him as he approached. "I'm not going to stop you." He placed a hand on Thomas' shoulder. "Just… stay safe, eh?"

"No promises." Thomas grinned and brushed his brother's hand away.

"Didn't expect any." Alex laughed. "All right. See ya. Take care."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever _mum._"

"I see what you did there." Alex laughed. "Alright. See you." He gave Thomas a playful push out the door and closed it after him. "You dickhead." He chuckled to himself as he headed back along the corridor.

He closed the door quietly behind him, without disturbing the silence throughout the house. It was often silent in the Black house. He turned and walked back up the corridor, thinking of how to spend his time with Suzy. Or if he could get some time away- a coy smile tugged at his lips- Umbra. He had been thinking about her a lot since their stint last night. Most of his mentality however, was simply asking: Why? Why did he finally go there after so long of it being… uninteresting? He understood the concept of arousal, but he had never felt it as badly as last night. He had never yearned so badly to bend her over and fuck her into submission like he had. But he like it, and suddenly he had no intention of stopping there.

He rounded the next corner dizzily, lost in his own fantasy of what he wanted to do next. He nearly didn't notice Suzy stumble through the doorway ahead, but the sound of her crashing into the wall opposite snapped him from his trance.

"Suzy?" He mouthed, quickening his pace as Suzy staggered to her feet again. She wiped her bleeding nose with her wrist, coughing. The wall beside her was stained where the impact was, smeared down a little. "Suzy!" Alex shouted and ran for her.

Jarod moved from the doorway at the wrong time. He had barely set his foot into the corridor again before he heard Alex's outburst. He jerked his head towards Alex as realisation hit him. At first his face remained static and blank, confused a little, but something clicked suddenly, and his face warped into a mask of fear. A memory of something Alex had mentioned to him that morning.

"_I'm out of my… medication."_

"Shi-" Jarod turned and shot in the other direction, but he was too slow. Alex already had a run-up on him, and with the ferocity of a charging Tauros he charged into Jarod, tackling him clear off his feet.

"You bastard!" Alex roared as they fell into a messy tumble, tearing and flailing at one another. Jarod broke Alex's grip and leapt to his feet, but Alex's hand caught around his wrist. Alex wrenched his dad backwards as he jumped from the floor and swung his right fist up into his chin. Jarod's head snapped back on impact and he staggered away, groaning in pain. He hit the wall behind him, and flattened himself against it in a desperate attempt to escape. Alex dived in again, sending another punch, this time into Jarod's rib cage. As Jarod doubled over, Alex lifted his elbow high up and brought it down on Jarod's head, connecting with a crack.

Jarod collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Alex immediately fell against the wall in front of him with a growl, beating it with his fist and smashing a significant dent into the plasterboard. "_Aaaargh!"_ He punched the wall again, making a second break. He knew what he had done. He knew what had just happened. It was so fast… "Dammit!" He drew his head back with his drowning curse, and swung forwards. He hit with a much solider _thud_ this time, striking a board beneath the plaster. He staggered away as pain spasmed through his head, clutching at it and cursing. "Fuck it!" He had handled everything so well for the last few years- only to stuff it up now.

"Alex!" Suzy shouted from behind him. The panicked tone she yelled with was the only thing that gave Alex cause to spin around. His heart leapt in the split-second before he was struck.

**Kinda slow to begin with- yeah. If you find it slow, check out my original (into the inferno) to see where it heads from here.**


	4. Pacifier

Chapter four

Pacifier

I'm only crazy on the inside.

Another surge of pain split through his head as his body was thrown roughly into the wall behind him. In all the confusion and madness he somehow braced himself for the approaching ground… but it never came. He pried his eyes open as he felt his limbs still pinned to the wall behind him.

"Alakazam…" The Pokémon growled, advancing on him. He could see the energy in its eyes- no. He could _feel_ it. The psychic hold on his limbs was vibrating slightly with barely contained power. He knew he was in a bad position.

"Fuck you…" Alex managed, despite a swelling feeling inside of his mouth and the taste of blood leaking onto his tongue.

"_That's very cute, Alex."_ The voice resonated from within his mind, projected from the psychic type. The Alakazam raised his free hand and snapped its fingers. Suzy yelped as a psychic force surrounded her too, and lifted her off the ground. _"Trying to protect your sister. How very noble of you."_ The Pokémon grinned cruelly as he lifted Suzy over his head. Suddenly she dropped, pulled by the psychic. The landed hard on her stomach with another cry of pain. She instantly tried to stand, but she was still held immobile. Alex made another growl and another attempt to rip himself free of his binds, but they wouldn't budge. He knew that Jarod's Alakazam was exceptionally powerful.

The Alakazam turned his gaze briefly to Jarod, shaking his head pityingly. _"You really shouldn't have done that."_ He advised with an irritated frown, though his general body language displayed him as disturbingly cool and content. _"Someone really has to teach you a lesson."_

"Try it, moustache monkey." Alex sneered. He was delighted to see the Pokémon's lips quiver momentarily in anger. "I've taken enough crap from Jarod over the years, I doubt you could do worse." The Alakazam simply chuckled at this. A loud, obnoxious laugh that sounded hollow.

"_Oh, I assure you, I can…"_ His eyes sparkled with a dangerous glint. _"I can do so much worse…"_ The Alakazam strode forwards now, hands clasped behind its back. He stepped around Suzy, murmuring as if pondering something. _"You may think you are strong, but you aren't."_ He walked a circle around Suzy, grinning to himself. _"You have exactly two weaknesses, and I can exploit them both quite easily."_

"Enlighten me." Alex grunted. One thing Alex knew about himself was his toughness. He knew he was tough. Pain was little deterrent to him, he dismissed threats without a second thought- there was little anybody could do to him to dishearten him.

"_Number one."_ The Alakazam stopped behind Suzy, still grinning. _"Number one is right here."_ He nodded to Suzy.

Alex's heart sunk. "You bastard…" He whispered dryly, barely managing the effort to speak. His lungs seemed empty suddenly, and his limbs went numb. His eyes narrowed however, and he growled: "If you touch her, I swear to Arceus I will slaughter you like a dog!"

"_Touch?"_ The Pokémon's lip twitched into an even wider grin. _"Oh, I'm planning on doing a lot of touching…"_

"Get back!" Alex roared, redoubling in his thrashing to break free. The Pokémon ignored him, and knelt behind Suzy. She grunted a little as the psychic grip lifted her onto her knees, and bent her over forwards. She barely made a move as the Alakazam's hands gripped her waistband, and tore her shorts off. "Get away!" Alex yelled again.

Suzy shuddered a little as the Alakazam tore away her underwear, but didn't make a noise. She held her lips sealed, willing herself to zone out and ignore everything that was to come- like she always would. She barely even heard Alex screaming at the Pokémon- she just zoned out.

"Suzy!" It seemed the Alakazam was waiting, and as soon as Alex uttered that last scream of protest, he grabbed Suzy's hips and thrust. "SUZY!"

Suzy gritted her teeth and stifled a whimper of pain as she was penetrated. The thing forced its way into her ass, spreading her painfully wide. She dropped her head on the ground with a sniffle, devoid of the will to fight back like she used to. "_Suzy!"_

"_Yeeeees…"_ The Alakazam growled in primal satisfaction as he thrust into the human's tight ass, tightening his grip around her waist as he did. "_That's iiiiit…"_

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Alex screamed as he bucked against his holds tenfold, but they held. He couldn't move.

Suzy grunted in rhythm, helpless to fully stifle the pain burning her backside as the Pokémon's dick pounded her. She gritted her teeth, silently making a plea to Arceus just to make it stop. _"Just make it stop…"_ She whimpered between her grunts, so quietly nobody heard her. Her eyes shut tightly as she did her best to endure the pain, shedding a tear.

She felt so helpless. She couldn't do anything to stop him- he was too strong, and there were too many. If she fought back, Jarod would find a new way to hurt her. If he couldn't manage that, he would find a way to hurt Alex, or Thomas, or Umbra- hurting her even worse by extension.

She choked on a yelp as the Pokémon swung a hand and smacked her on the ass, stabbing her with another stinging pain to further add to her suffering. Pokémon always had to be big… always so big… they always took her in the ass, and they just kept coming over and over and _over._ _"Why?"_ She begged softly and quietly.

"SUZY!" Her eyes snapped open, Alex's screams registering with her for the first time. Alex spotted his effect, and continued. "Suzy, look at me!" She jerked her head up, facing his fiery glare with her softer, emptier one. "Suzy, just look at me…" He crooned, chest heaving in rage, but containing it. His words flowed so quietly… so very softly to her ears. "Look at my eyes, Suzy… look at my eyes…" He told her, barely keeping himself together. "I'm with you… it's okay…"

Suzy felt a weird buzzing in her ears as she watched on, wincing in pain still as she was fucked… yet it seemed to be fading. The tearing, hammering pain in her ass, her breasts scraping against the floor through her shirt, she Pokémon's muffled grunts of pleasure behind her… it all faded slowly.

"_Just look at my eyes…"_ Alex's words came crystal clear, and suddenly, they were the only thing she could hear. His body, fixed as if nailed to a crucifix as the wall behind was gone, was all she could see. _"It's okay… I'm here… just… please… don't cry… be strong for me…"_ He begged. _"Be strong…"_

The Alakazam groaned as he hilted himself, exploding inside Suzy's tight confines with a mad grin. He thrust a few more times as the last of his cum dribbled out, milking himself off, before standing up. _"How about that, bitch?"_ He asked as he stood again, his cock sliding into his sheath.

He looked between the two, suddenly confused. _"What's this?"_ He turned to Suzy and extended his mind towards hers. Black. It was totally black- nothing there except a small dot of blue that was her concentration. She hadn't even realised he had stopped- she had totally zoned out halfway through. Her mind shut most of itself down, leaving her last speck of consciousness fixed on Alex.

He turned to Alex now- this time he smiled.

Alex's head hung, his neck limp. His limbs suddenly appeared lifeless, drained of all energy. He sobbed softly under his brow, trying to hide his eyes by dropping his head even lower.

"_Aaw, Alex is sad, now."_ The Alakazam taunted gleefully. He hadn't rubbed Suzy's conscious into the dirt like he had wanted to, but Alex was shattered. He had accomplished what he wanted. _"Now, I believe I said you had __**two **__weaknesses?_"

"_Fuck you…"_ Alex growled, clenching his eyes. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" He jerked his head up with a roar, his face flushing red with fury.

"_Huh."_ The Alakazam crossed his arms with a dry smile. _"Somebody's a little cranky…"_ He tutted. _"I think Alex needs… a nap."_

"NO!" Alex jerked to life again, thrashing as much as he could. "No! NO-NO-NO!"

"_Oh, yes."_ The cruel psychic voice cut through all of his screams in protest. _"I think it's time you… sleep."_ The Alakazam's eyes flashed blue…

_Each step landed quietly, echoing endlessly through water and muffled by its thickness. Alex searched the nothing engulfing him- of course, there was nothing to be seen. He simply continued walking further into infinity, expanding endlessly into the invisible horizon._

"_Alex?"_

_He looked down. Below, the dark pool rippled where his feet settled. Each ripple rose and expanded as a perfect ring, then shimmered away into the dark distance. Behind this ripple, in the reflection of the sea of darkness, was the world. Skyscrapers and towers rose into the reflection of the sky below him, slicing through the grey heavens passing at remarkable speed. Sole to sole, foot to foot, a reflection of himself stared back from the other side. Alex looked up again, searching once more. Nothing. There was nothing around him to be reflected, but still there was the reflection of a city right at his feet. He looked down again, looking to a tower next to him. Tracing it in the reflection, he made his way toward it, hands out and searching. His reflection reached it and touched it with his hands. Alex felt nothing, and kept going… his reflection didn't. Alex's first foot lifted away from that of his reflection, then his other. They were separate._

_Alex staggered backwards again, away from where the tower should have been. There was nothing but black where the tower's base touched the pool. Nothing on his side. Alex finally knelt, falling to one knee and staring at the reflection. His other self on the other side approached, and sat near. His other self gestured: come here. Alex inclined his head curiously, and reached his hand towards the surface. As it touched down, the cold shiver of metal jolted down his arm. He tried to jerk his hand away, but it wouldn't move! He panicked- he grabbed his wrist with his other hand and squatted, pushing away with all his strength. Nothing moved, his hand was stuck._

_Suddenly, the pool was iced over. Alex pulled harder- until he heard a crack. He froze suddenly, listening carefully to the sound. He looked down. His reflection grinned back- wide and crazy. His reflection held one hand on display, suddenly clutching a small knife. He smiled even wider- so wide, at the corners of his lips the skin seemed to tear, bloodying as it tried to stretch itself wider and wider._

_Alex cursed in pain as the reflection swung down with the knife and stabbed it right through the ice, and into Alex's hand on the other side. He collapsed to his knees as the overwhelming pain shook him. His blood leaked from his palm, still stuck to the ice, and oozed over the silver surface, tainting it. Alex gritted his teeth, doing his best to endure the pain, and tugged away again._

"_AAagh!" He collapsed as the knife's serrations dug into his skin, preventing any escape and only encouraging the bleeding. He didn't think he had enough strength to pull again, anyway. It was like the blood seeping from his wound was the last of his strength, flowing from his body._

_He watched, suddenly rigid again. The edges of the crimson pool stopped spreading across the ice. at first he thought it was a trick of the light, but as it happened again, he knew it was real. Just at the edges of the blood pool, a thin layer of ice formed over the surface. The pool cracked, and the surface broke as the blood expanded with its freezing- the intense cold continued to freeze it over._

_**Wait,**__ he realised suddenly, __**blood… blood is warm… how can blood freeze?**__ He threw this thought about as the pool continued to freeze, the ice layer slowly surrounding and closing in on his hand in the centre. His main concern now- what would happen when it reached him? He found out soon enough. He found out the hard way._

"_AAAAAAAA-" He howled in agony as a massive surge of pain engulfed his entire hand. The skin of his fingers paled as they froze first, the blood inside them freezing and expanding. Alex screamed- he screamed like he had never before as the surface of his skin broke, blood-ice crystals stabbing through his skin from the inside, bursting the walls of his capillaries and veins. It moved agonisingly slowly- it was fifteen seconds of absolute, immeasurable agony before his hand, once warm and soft, was a gory, blood-drenched, pulpy mass of ice spikes, so disfigured it was impossible to identify what it had once been. More erupted from his wrist, more veins exploding under pressure and more frozen blood-spikes bursting through the skin._

_Then his feet and legs. Their contact with the ice had the same affect, and suddenly they too were burning in pain as every nerve was torn apart and severed. His support lost out as his feet exploded, and he dropped onto the ice. The chilling spread to his torso as it landed, and within ten seconds the first spikes were ripping through his torso as his heart froze, exploding inside his chest._

_And yet- he lived. Something wouldn't let his die, and he felt everything. He felt the horrendous, searing pain as the spikes tore apart his throat, cutting his breathing. He felt his lungs pierced as the blood inside them ripped them apart- he felt blood seep from about his eyeballs as his brain too repeated the same dreadful process._

_Within another fifteen seconds, it was complete. A pulpy, gory mass of red spikes totally unidentifiable. No trace of skin left- no human shape anymore- just a mass of spikes and gore, lying on the icy surface…_

_Then, there was something._

_Each step landed quietly, echoing endlessly through water and muffled by its thickness. Alex searched the nothing engulfing him- of course, there was nothing to be seen. He simply continued walking further into infinity, expanding endlessly into the invisible horizon. Somehow- maybe he didn't notice it, maybe he was looking away purposely- he didn't spot the bloody mass of spikes lying fifty metres away._

"_Alex?"_

_He looked down. Below, the dark pool rippled where his feet settled. Each ripple rose and expanded as a perfect ring, then shimmered away into the dark distance. Behind this ripple, in the reflection of the sea of darkness, was the world. Skyscrapers and towers rose into the reflection of the sky below him, slicing through the grey heavens passing at remarkable speed. Sole to sole, foot to foot, a reflection of himself stared back from the other side. Alex looked up again, searching once more. Nothing. There was nothing around him to be reflected, but still there was the reflection of a city right at his feet. He looked down again, looking to a tower next to him. Tracing it in the reflection, he made his way toward it, hands out and searching. His reflection reached it and touched it with his hands. Alex felt nothing, and kept going… his reflection didn't. Alex's first foot lifted away from that of his reflection, then his other. They were separate._

_Alex staggered backwards again, away from where the tower should have been. There was nothing but black where the tower's base touched the pool. Nothing on his side. Alex finally knelt, falling to one knees and staring at the reflection. His other self on the other side approached, and sat near. His other self gestured: come here. Alex inclined his head curiously, and reached his hand towards the surface. As it touched down, the cold shiver of metal jolted down his arm. He tried to jerk his hand away, but it wouldn't move! He panicked- he grabbed his wrist with his other hand and squatted, pushing away with all his strength. Nothing moved, his hand was stuck._

_And so it went on…._

*Three hours later*

"Alex! Alex!"

"Uugh?" Alex's eyes flashed open. The first thing he saw was Thomas- his hair hanging around his face as he leaned over him and a mix of fear and anger contorting it. "Thomas…?" Alex asked softly, reaching one arm up. One warm, soft arm- not bloody, icy, spiky- none. "I'm… awake."

"You're awake, bud." Thomas nodded, his anger subsiding into a smile of relief. "You're awake."

"Thomas…" Alex rasped. "Thomas… you gorgeous bastard!" Thomas recoiled, but he couldn't escape. Alex's arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him into him, gripping him in an ultimate death-hug. "You gorgeous, wonderful bastard!" He threw Thomas off and leapt to his feet, grinning stupidly. "Oh, Arceus thank you!" He laughed and punched the air, taking a huge breath. Air. Clean, fresh, real air. He ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing it back and feeling the texture, grinning wider. "Oh, god! Thank you…"

Alex fell against the wall behind him, shutting his eyes as Thomas stumbled to his feet. Alex played his fingers along the plaster behind him, feeling the sharp edges where his fist broke the plaster, and simply enjoying the different textures. "I love this wall…" He breathed huskily, still touching the surface and feeling for different textures. "I fucking love this wall…"

Thomas grimaced a little as he watched on. Sure, Alex waking up had to be the single most epic display of joy he had ever seen- but he knew the reasons behind it. He knew all about Alex's dreams. Still- being the guy to wake him up always was a pleasure.

"Alex…"

"It's awesome…" Alex sighed, finally calming down a little and opening his eyes to see Thomas.

"Alex, what happened?"

"I was-" His smile fell a little as he remembered. "I tackled Jarod." He said. "I knocked him out."

Thomas crossed his arms and stared. "You didn't."

"I did." Alex nodded.

"Alex, I've known you long enough- you're my bro. You've been a lot of things, but violent? Nuh. Not you. Never violent."

Alex grinned wider. "I have my moments."

"Jarod was awake when I got home." Thomas argued. "He told me to give you one of these before you woke up." He held a container in his hand, shaking it a little.

"Ah…" Alex nodded. "That explains everything…"

"What are these things?" Thomas asked as he passed the container to Alex. Alex caught them and pocketed them.

"They're my medication."

"For what?"

"Suppression." He said vaguely.

"What the hell's "suppression?"" Thomas demanded.

"All in due time." Alex said calmly. "All in due time."

"All right- enough of this." Thomas sighed and held up a hand. "Come with me. I've got some things to ask you."

"Like what?" Alex asked as he followed Thomas down the corridor. Thomas didn't answer. He turned off into their room. Alex followed after, stepping around the door as Thomas closed it behind him.

"Where's Suzy?" He asked immediately. He remained perfectly still as Thomas put a hand on his shoulder.

"You know where she is, Alex." He said softly. Umbra, lying on the end of Thomas' bed, opened one eye as she heard them speak.

"I do." Alex nodded. "Friedan… he made me watch."

"W-watch?" Thomas backed up a little.

"He fucked Suzy in the hallway." Alex's whispers were quiet- blank and emotionless, totally level and devoid of feeling. "He held me against the wall and made me watch, then he hypnotized me."

"Arceus…"

"I'm going to kill him one day." Alex decided, sitting on Thomas' bed and stroking Umbra's head. "I'll do something really nasty and painful… yeah…" He grinned again. Part of his mind wondered- could he do the same thing to Friedan that he had done to him? Freeze him from the inside… that would make for an ironic death, and Alex was sure he would enjoy watching it greatly.

"That's talk for another day." Thomas sat beside Alex with a sigh. "Alex- somebody fucked Umbra."

Alex's heart leapt. **Oh shit…** How did he know?

Alex managed to remain calm, despite his heart racing. "Don't suppose the guy goes by "Thomas"?"

"Not a human, dick." Thomas snapped at him. "A Pokémon. She's pregnant."

"Saywhat?" Alex's gaze snapped to Umbra. She smiled sheepishly, and pawed at the mattress uncomfortably. "I thought she was just fat…" Umbra coughed intentionally and gave Alex an evil glance. "Sorry…" He murmured apologetically.

"She's pregnant." Thomas rubbed on Umbra's side, rolling her over a bit. "See?" He traced one finger around her nipples, swollen to an extent.

"How'd this happen?" Alex asked as he watched. Umbra didn't fuck with Pokémon. She always seemed content with Thomas… and recently, Alex too.

"Remember last week? We were out at that school thing?" Thomas continued rubbing her belly as he spoke. "Jarod took her to the crucible while we were gone." Umbra nodded a little to confirm this, and looked away. It was a shameful day for her- she didn't want to remember it. "I had Suzy look at her this morning while you made breakfast. She's giving birth tonight."

"Saywhat?"

"She's going to give birth tonight." Thomas repeated with a solemn nod, stroking Umbra's chin. "Suzy reckons two pups." He smiled now, turning back to Alex. "That's one for you, and one for Suzy."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Yeah- that's cool and all- but what about you?"

"Umbra." He said, patting her belly.

"Umbra's not yours." Alex said, confronting Thomas with a glare.

"Well, she's more mine." Thomas replied calmly. "I'm the one who fucks her- she's more mine." Umbra cocked an ear while Thomas was watching Alex.

"So what- an Eevee for me to fuck and an Eevee to fuck Suzy, is that the idea?"

"You know I don't-"

"Sorry, sorry." Alex sighed. "You know I say stupid things sometimes. You brought Umbra home that day, which qualifies her as yours. You _did _train her, so that's fair enough."

"Don't be a dick about it." Thomas grunted. "I don't _have_ to give you a pup."

"Umbreon!" Umbra butted Thomas' arm with a short growl. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"I mean, _Umbra _doesn't have to give you a pup."

"But she might." Alex shrugged with a grin, turning to Umbra. His grin quickly faltered, dropping to an expression of concern.

"_Uuum…"_ Umbra groaned, clenching her teeth and laying on her side.

"Oh, shit…"

"No! Not now!" Thomas flew off the bed and to the floor, kneeling in front of it. "Not now, dammit! Suzy isn't back yet!"

Umbra opened one clenched eye to glare at Thomas. "_Umbreon…"_ She growled between gritted teeth, suddenly shaking a little.

"Can't you hold it in a bit longer?" Thomas begged. "We need Suzy- she's the only one who's done this before!"

"(No, idiot!)" Umbra shook her head violently, her cheeks flushing red with her rising pain. "(Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!)" She balked, growling between her teeth. "(Aagh! Fucking pups!)"

"Do something!" Thomas yelled to Alex.

"What do I know?" Alex shouted back. "I've never done this!"

"Well do-" Thomas fell silent as he heard rushed footsteps behind him. Both boys sighed in relief and slid away as Suzy burst through the door- wide eyes and rushing.

"Thank Arceus…" Thomas sighed. Falling onto his ass with a huff.

"Out-" Suzy said over her shoulder as she knelt before Umbra. "She needs space."

"(A whole FUCKING LOT OF IT by the feel of things!)" Umbra howled.

"Here…" Suzy placed a finger on her nose, shushing her. Alex and Thomas, with a bittersweet cocktail of relief and reluctance, slipped away through the doorway, closing it behind them.

They simultaneously fell against the wall behind them, releasing their pent-up breaths.

"The miracle of life, huh?" Alex grinned at Thomas.

"Huh. Miracle." Thomas grinned back. "Don't let Umbra catch you saying that anytime soon. I don't think she'll see the "miraculous" side to it."

"Yeah…" Alex agreed, and slid down the wall to a sitting position. Thomas watched him, then followed suit, joining Alex as they both listened to the doorway. A loud, furious sounding growl quickly jolted them upright again.

"That sounds… painful." Thomas said with an awkward smile.

"Sounds like she's trying to shit out a pumpkin." Alex added, also looking at the door with an awkward feeling. They looked to each other now, and somehow silently communicated that they would both be better off waiting somewhere else… somewhere less painful sounding…

*Later*

"Do you have…" Thomas studied his cards carefully. "A Corsola?"

On the other side of the table, Alex's brow furrowed. He murmured something. He growled slightly and picked one car from his hand. "Dickhead." He grumbled as he handed the card face-down across the table to Thomas.

Thomas grinned and reached for his prize. "I knew you-"

"Go fish! Motherfucker!" Alex jerked his card back, thumping the table with his other fist. He fell back into his seat, exploding into an irrational fit of laughter. "Oh, man! I had you!"

"Fucking liar." Thomas grunted and stood forcefully, kicking his chair out backwards. "Fuck you. I'm not playing anymore."

At the doorway, Suzy coughed very quietly.

"It's not against the rules, Tom." Alex smirked and crossed his arms contently.

Suzy coughed a little louder.

"Yeah, but you're still being a dick about it!"

"Guys…"

"You'll get over it." Alex retorted with a shrug.

"_Vee!"_ Both heads snapped towards Suzy. She smiled sheepishly, and nodded to the little bundle wrapped in white sheets resting in her arms.

"Whoa…" Alex and Thomas both shot over to her with unexpected energy. Its fur was pale beige, a little off from the usual Eevee brown. The collar around its neck and tip of its tail, however, were as white as snow. It pried open its tiny eyelids to look up at the boys- eye shining black light the night sky, each dotted with a single speck of white like little stars.

"Damn… that's cute…" Thomas smiled a bit.

"I was kinda expecting a tiny Umbreon…" Alex murmured as he leaned closer. Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose with a frustrated mutter, and smacked Alex in the face.

"Hey!" Alex made a swing for Thomas.

"Stop!" Both froze, turning to Suzy with shocked expressions. "You're scaring her." Suzy lifted one finger and stroked it down the Eevee's back. "Settle down, girl." She petted the Pokémon's head until it rested it again, closing her eyes once more. Suzy gently lifted the bundle from her arms, and handed it towards the boys. "Umbra wants you to have it." She said. "Alex."

"Cool." He said dumbly as he took the bundle for himself. He made sure to wrap his arms around it securely so there was no chance of dropping it. "Hey, girl." He poked the Pokémon lightly with one finger, teasing her collar. She didn't make much of a response, but shuffled about a little and poked her nose into the crook of his arm.

"Thomas." Suzy turned. "There's another… if you want to see it."

"Of course I do." Thomas nodded, and headed after Suzy towards the hallway again. He stopped at the doorway and turned around, seeing Alex still waiting in the kitchen and staring at his Pokémon. "Alex? Are you coming?"

"Yeah… just a sec…" He stood still, watching the Pokémon nuzzle into his finger. The pale fur, the bright, white collar and tail, small in size, made him smile… it reminded him of somebody. "Haley." He said, rubbing her cheek. "Ima call you Haley."

**So it begins…**


	5. Six

Chapter five

**Six**

i i i o . .

Alex followed slowly after Thomas, still stroking the Eevee. His finger kept moving the same way, stroking lightly from neck to tail along her back. He was trapped in a loop- walk and stroke. His mind was wrapped, engrossed by an overwhelming sense of confusion.

He had never seen this Eevee before, but he couldn't let it go. He couldn't take his eyes away from it. He should have felt nothing for it- he hadn't when he simply saw it- but as soon as he touched it, there was something. Suddenly, just for a moment, that little bundle of fur was worth more than anything else in the world to him.

He stumbled backwards a little as his arms hit the wall. He hadn't noticed the corner in the hallway. He checked down to make sure the Pokémon wasn't hurt, then continued down the corridor, still smiling helplessly.

He turned around the corner to the three's shared room, speaking: "Hey, Umbra." He looked up. Umbra rested curled in a ball at the foot of Thomas' bed, a small distance from a sickly stain on the blanket. Umbra slowly lifted her head to glance at him. "Do you think-" Her eyes flashed blue.

"I-" His limbs lost all integrity suddenly, falling weak in a moment. His mind blanked out, fading like a television picture disappearing into nothing. One last dying shimmer in his mind yelled something at him. **Protect Haley.** He turned, mustering a last budge of strength to cling close to the baby Pokémon as he fell, and hit on his side.

"Shit!" Thomas leapt off his bed.

"(NO!)" Umbra screamed, realising her mistake and bolting off the bed covers in a panic. Thomas, Suzy and Umbra were all quickly on their feet and surrounding Alex. Thomas fell to a knee at his side, heart pounding.

"Oh…" He released a lengthy sigh, somewhat easing Umbra's stiffness as she poked her head around his back. "She's okay." He slid aside to give Umbra a view. Her baby lay still wrapped in Alex's arms. She appeared unharmed, but she shook madly and was burrowing her head into her blanket with a terrified whine. "He turned and landed on his side."

"(Oh, I'm such an idiot… why didn't I think that through…?)" Umbra groaned, feeling the pressure as a wave of hurt swept over her. She stepped forwards gingerly, managing a relieved smile. "(Hey, baby…)"

"Vee!" The Pokémon jolted briefly at her voice. Umbra recoiled back a step, her guilt rising again. She watched shakily as the Eevee settled into petrification again, shuddering and trying to hide against Alex.

"(Oh, no… what have I done…?)" She strode towards it again, her inner pain heightening further as she scented her child's fear. It was terrified. "(Sshh… it's alright, baby…)" She crooned, nearing the Pokémon. The Eevee cringed again, and went stiff as Umbra ran her tongue over its neck and back.

"What's… up?" Thomas blinked and shook his head, confused by the whole situation.

"(She's… I don't know…)" Umbra stepped back with a whimper, having failed in her attempt to settle the Eevee.

"Vee?" Asked the second, darker Eevee from Thomas' bed.

"(She's… she's clinging to him.)" Nobody recognised just a twitch of jealousy as Umbra spoke. "(She's clinging to him for comfort.)"

"Shouldn't we move them?" Thomas asked finally, but without the assurance to touch either.

"(No.)" Umbra sighed again and shook her head, hopping onto Thomas' bed where her second child crawled across the blanket to her. She fell onto her side silently as the second burrowed into her stomach, seeking her nipple. "(Leave them be…)"

"It's your kid." Thomas shrugged and sat at the top end of his bed. "Your call."

"(I know.)" She knew he wasn't doing it intentionally, but Thomas' words made her feel _so much _worse. "(They are my kids… I'm responsible for them…)" She shook her head again, whispering to herself in her shame. "(_Uugh_… mothering… I'm not cut out for this…)"

*8:01 PM*

_Each step landed quietly, echoing endlessly through water and muffled by its thickness. Alex searched the nothing engulfing him- of course, there was nothing to be seen. He simply continued walking further into infinity, expanding endlessly into the invisible horizon._

"_Vee?_

_He stroked the Pokémon resting in his arms, settling her as she searched relentlessly. Below, the dark pool rippled where his feet settled, and Haley's eyes were fixated. Fixated as each ripple rose and expanded as a perfect ring, then shimmered away into the dark distance. Behind this ripple, in the reflection of the sea of darkness, was the world. Skyscrapers and towers rose into the reflection of the sky below him, slicing through the grey heavens passing at remarkable speed. Sole to sole, foot to foot, a reflection of himself stared back from the other side- but without a Pokémon. Alex looked up again, searching once more. Nothing. Just him and Haley. There was nothing around him to be reflected, but still there was the reflection of a city right at his feet. He looked down again, looking to a tower next to him. Tracing it in the reflection, he made his way toward it, free hand out and searching. His reflection reached it and touched it with his hands. Alex felt nothing, and kept going… his reflection didn't. Alex's first foot lifted away from that of his reflection, then his other. They were separate._

_Alex staggered backwards again, away from where the tower should have been. There was nothing but black where the tower's base touched the pool. Nothing on his side._

"_Vee, Eevee?" Haley asked, poking her wet nose against Alex's arm._

"_I don't know, Haley…" Alex stroked her still as he turned on the spot- he stroked her for both their comfort. "This place… it feels familiar… what is it?" Alex finally knelt, falling to one knee and staring at the reflection. His other self on the other side approached, and sat near. His other self gestured: come here. Alex inclined his head curiously, and reached his hand towards the surface. As it touched down, the cold shiver of metal jolted down his arm. As he tried to jerk his hand away, the surface around exploded towards him. Metal rang sharply, and Haley's squeal above all that, and a brace of chains from below caught around Alex's wrist. He yelled and tugged, but the chains dragged his hand back, and slapped it against the surface of the pool with a blast of water on impact. Alex tugged again- but the chains had suddenly solidified, turned to stone and now were stiff._

_Now he saw it- in his reflection. His other self lifted over his head, a giant, ferocious meat cleaver, so ungainly it required both hands to grip. The grin on his other self's lips was ghostly, flashing under a lock of snow white hair covering his face._

"_VEE!"_

_Something changed as Haley buried her head against Alex, desperately clinging to the only safety she knew. As if breaking a paralysis, strength exploded into his limbs from seemingly nowhere. Something whispered in his ear: "Don't let it hurt her."_

_Alex roared and tore his hand away. The chains shattered, exploding into dusty fragments as they broke. Alex leapt off his knee and backwards as his reflection attacked. The giant blade lifted from the surface of the water like the fin of a phantom Sharpedo, shimmering ethereally despite the engulfing darkness. It hummed as it rose a little higher; it seemed to hold still for a moment at its apex, then fell again, disappearing without a splash beneath the surface again. Alex clung Haley a little tighter and stared back at his reflection, readying himself for another attack. Ready to defend his new friend._

_However ready he was, the look his reflection returned completely disarmed him. The meat cleaver fell from his reflection's trembling hand, and landed soundlessly on the reflected side; the water on Alex's side rippled a little, feeling the impact. His reflection's face seemed to pale even more, eyes wide and disbelieving. He mouthed one thing with shaky, cold lips. "Haley…"_

_His reflection turned around, and it ran away…_

*7:01 AM*

"Alex…?"

"Mmph…" Alex swatted blindly at what he couldn't see, and cuddled Haley a little closer. Since his reflection ran away, Alex had sat down. He couldn't escape- he couldn't get away. He just sat with Haley. He sat there for over eleven hours. He spoke to her. He petted her. Just the two of them, alone.

He didn't know how she got there with him, but to a degree, he was glad. Something had given him the strength to break free… something with Haley.

"Woah, what's your problem this morning?" Thomas backed away a little with a confused grunt. This was the unhappiest he had ever seen Alex in the morning. No hugs and happiness, just… eh. Thomas actually felt a little annoyed- underappreciated, even.

"Nothing." Alex yawned as he sat upright. Haley also yawned, stretching out in his arms.

"Are you ever going to let her go?" Thomas asked irritably. Alex hadn't released hold of his Pokémon since he received it last night.

"Not if I can help it." Alex said as he stood, stroking Haley. She scratched her ear briefly with her hindleg, then glanced up at Alex with the awestruck expression of baby Pokémon everywhere.

"(Well you have to let go.)" Both turned to Umbra as she stood, uncoiling from her body. "(She's not going to school with you, that's for sure.)"

"What?" Alex blinked.

"I think she wants her back." Thomas suggested with a nudge.

"Do I have to?" Alex asked Umbra, smiling and holding Haley up to his face in a display of cuteness. Haley pawed at his cheek and licked it, enjoying the attention.

"(Yes.)" Umbra nodded staunchly. "(I need to teach them.)"

"Dammit." Alex walked to Umbra and lowered Haley onto the sheets. Haley looked back over her shoulder for a second, then back to her mother, appearing a little confused.

"(Hello honey.)" Umbra crooned, licking her nose. Haley's tail set wagging, and she rubbed against Umbra's cheek.

"(Mum.)" She said simply, smirking.

"(Mum!)" Alex turned around and saw the second Eevee in Suzy's lap, tail also wagging. The second Eevee leapt from Suzy's lap and skittered across the floor with tremendous energy, then leapt up the side of Thomas' bed and joined his sister. Suzy smiled as she watched, as did Alex. Haley backed away from her brother and stood on her hind legs, pawing at the air defensively. Her brother braved it, and he dived at her, tackling her and tumbling into a submission roll.

"Alex, stop gawking." Alex's head jerked back to Thomas; Thomas tapped his thigh. "I'm hungry, and Suzy needs all the nutrients she can get." Suzy muttered a little at this- none too pleased.

"Right, right." Alex sighed, and reluctantly stood and headed for the door. He first made his way to the bathroom, where he splashed a scoop of water over his face. As he twisted shut the tap, he spotted a new container on the side of the basin, his name labelled on the side. He reached for the container with a sigh, and popped the top open. He glanced inside. Full. Totally full. Even with the full container in front of him though, he paused. He lifted himself up and sat on the edge of the basin, thinking back to yesterday. Back to how good he had felt. Not necessarily about Suzy and the Alakazam, but everything before. Everything was so much more exciting and brilliant- he felt so free the day before.

He glanced at the open doorway behind him, and seeing nobody present, closed the lid without taking a pill. Thomas had given him one the night before anyway. Surely it would last… maybe? But- when he thought about it, recently his medication was wearing out sooner and sooner. How long through the day would he get?

After that, he headed out into the kitchen again. As usually, Jarod sat at the table.

"Jarod." He said as he passed.

Jarod grunted, particularly more nasty than usual. "I hate the sound of your voice."

"That's nice, Jarod." Alex laughed, only to irritate Jarod further. He flung open the fridge enthusiastically, humming, and took a pack of bacon from the fridge, as he had done the day before, and dropped it into the frying pan.

"You're back on your medication?" Alex's hand froze on the handle of the pan, intently listening to Jarod's voice's echo die away quickly. His smile soured quickly.

"I am." He said without turning around. He turned the handle of the frying pan as his economics teacher had instructed him to. "I took it just then." He lied, without the energy he displayed prior to the mention of "medication".

"That's good." Jarod stood; Alex listened to his chair scraping across the linoleum. Then it stopped- no sound, save the gentle sizzling of the pan. He listened to a very quiet footstep- a footstep trying to be silent, but not quite. He knew something was wrong, and he cringed before it came.

Alex's head suddenly stung slightly on the right, then he felt the world soar past, crying out in pain as he felt the pain of the impact hit him with full force on the temple. His jaw jarred as it hit the edge of the counter as he fell, causing him to bite down on his tongue. He hit the ground landing on his head. His sight was a blur, colours twisting and swaying above him as he lay on his back. Something came at him, grabbing him around the neck and hauling him back to his feet.

"_That_ is for tackling me, you little shit!" Jarod roared, grabbing the frying pan off the stove top in his free hand. "And _this-_ _"_ He pushed Alex with a growl. Alex staggered backwards, but kept his balance for a moment as he tried to overcome his daze. "Is because I hate you!"

It was the left this time. At first it was a solid hit, smashing into his left side- then a searing, burning following that. He screamed in agony as the impact knocked him senseless, and collapsed again.

"Alex!" Thomas dropped the uniform in his hands, head jerking upright as he heard Alex scream. "Alex!" He jolted around and dashed for the door, stumbling around the corner. Ahead, Jarod shot out of the kitchen, red faced and seething. Both stopped as they saw each other, and stared in a moment of shock. Thomas growled and clenched his fists.

Jarod broke the stalemate, dashing down another corridor to the side. Thomas yelled and bolted after him as Suzy followed behind. He shot around the corner too quickly and sideswiped the wall, but growled and charged after Jarod. At the end of the hall, Jarod's Alakazam emerged from a doorway. He glanced at the two briefly with a confused grunt, but the situation dawned on him quickly.

"Teleport!" Jarod yelled, glancing over his shoulder at Thomas. His Alakazam dashed forwards to meet him, lighting a finger with purple energy. Jarod practically dived for his Pokémon as Thomas made a grab for his shirt.

The air seemed to thicken around Thomas for a second, and a purple flash filled his vision. He swore as he tumbled forward and crashed into the empty space where Jarod had been an instant before.

Still swearing, he recomposed himself, brushing down his pyjamas aggressively. "Damn you Jarod…" He muttered, briefly incapacitated by his rage and standing still on the spot. It was always Alex who received the pain of Jarod's anger. Alex, who didn't fight back. Whenever Jarod was angry, he vented on Alex. Suzy was too frail to handle it, Thomas himself- Jarod knew he would fight back, but Alex… Alex was tough. He was too tough for his own good- Jarod could beat him and beat him till' his heart's content, and still do little-to-no damage.

Thomas rounded the corner to the kitchen still swearing. Suzy knelt beside the counter over Alex, behind the table. "What's happened?" Thomas asked as he circled the table, noting pieces of scattered bacon littering the floor.

Suzy upturned her head to look at Jarod, and instantly he knew it was something bad. The way her face had paled, how her eyes seemed to tremble in fear- "Let me look." Thomas instructed, kneeling beside her. "Oh f-" His words were strangled in his throat by shock. "Oh… Alex…"

The left side of his face was dark- burned where he had been struck with the pan. Reddish and painful-looking.

Suzy reappeared from somewhere, having retrieved a medical kit while Thomas was immobilised. She threw it open quickly, and began digging through the contents.

"_Fuck_." Alex muttered, prying open his right eye. "Fucking _ouch_."

"_Sssh_…" Suzy shushed him as she began with whatever people do to treat burns.

"Remind me to never let anyone fire-punch me…" Alex groaned, brushing Suzy away and sitting upright. He glanced around slowly, still with his burned eye shut. "Aaw, the bacon's dirty."

"Fuck the bacon, man." Thomas snapped, hiding his concern. "You need to get to a hospital!"

"Nah." Alex yawned and stood upright, against Suzy's protesting hand on his shoulder trying to push him onto his back. "I'm alright."

"Dude." Thomas placed a hand on his shoulder, facing him eyes-to-eye. "Your face is red."

Alex stared hard back at Thomas with what eye he had open. "I fell." He said. "I hit the frying pan, and it landed on my face."

"Bullshit." Thomas shouted, his hand sliding to grab Alex's collar. "It was Jarod! How the fuck can you expect me to believe-"

"I didn't expect you to believe anything." Alex interrupted, still staring. "But if anyone asks…"

"You're going to keep on living a lie?" Thomas released Alex and stepped back a little. "We have _proof_ that Jarod abuses you! Look at your face! We can bust his ass for good!"

Alex sighed, and looked over his shoulder at Suzy. Suzy averted her eyes to the ground, and shook her head slowly. Alex turned back. "We can't."

"What? Why not?"

"You of all people know what kind of a spiteful person Jarod is." Alex held his gaze, moving a little closer to Thomas' face. "What would he do to all those Pokémon he has locked up in the crucible? What would he do out of spite?"

Thomas' glare sharpened a little, concentrating on what Alex was saying. "I'm not speaking to you…" Thomas realised, stepping to the side. "It's Suzy, isn't it? She's having you say these things. You don't give two shits for those Pokémon!"

"She needs someone to speak for her." Alex stepped across, between his siblings. His burn still drew Thomas' attention for a moment. "Those Pokémon are like sisters to her. Sisters." He hissed. "She takes care of them, she empathises with them, she tends to them when they're hurt. I won't let them be hurt…"

"Why not?" Thomas asked slowly, softer this time and searching for one answer in particular.

"Because Suzy cares for them." Alex conceded, giving Thomas what he wanted.

"That's what I thought." Thomas nodded darkly, turning away with a grimace. He began out the kitchen door, storming off in another of his infamous rages. "It's your choice, then. Go. Keep lying for her. Go on. No loss on my part- nobody's ever given a crap about me to begin with- so fuck telling the truth for my sake! What do I matter?" He disappeared around the corner, calling after him: "Your clothes are on your bed! Get them!"

Alex stared at the doorway blankly, crossing his arms. He smirked a little, bittersweet with amusement, pride and guilt. "The things I do for you." He said as he turned around. Suzy quickly stepped into him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, dropping her head on his shoulders. Alex wrapped his arms around her back, returning the hug silently.

"_I'm sorry…"_ She whispered, choked with tears. She knew it was her fault. If it wasn't for her, Jarod would have no leverage on either Thomas or Alex. Without her around, Alex wouldn't be on his pills and would defend himself. Without her and her attachment to her Pokémon friends, there would be no reason for Alex or Thomas to stay. _"I'm so, so sorry…"_

"Ssssh…" Alex stroked a hand down her hair, rubbing her back gently. "No… it's okay…"

"Alex." Both lifted their heads a little, glancing at the doorway. Thomas stumbled back in, face empty of the rage he had felt before. He sighed and withdrew his hands from his pockets, walking towards the two and joining them. "I'm sorry, bro." He said eventually. "And, I'm sorry Suzy."

"It's all good." Alex said with a nod, making room for Thomas in their group hug. "It's all good, dog…" They stood in silence, huddling as a group.

"I know you care." Thomas said eventually. "I may seem ungrateful at times, but I'm thankful you've got my back."

"Umbreon!" The three looked down as Umbra appeared between them, at their feet.

"And Umbra, too." Thomas smiled. "The awesome foursome. Always has been- always will-"

"Vee!" They looked back down as both Eevee's slipped between their legs, grinning widely. Haley leapt onto Alex's foot and stretched up his leg, grabbing it as high up as she could between her paws. The other leapt up, and landed on Umbra's back where he balanced.

"Huh." Alex grinned as Haley made a failed attempt to scramble up his leg, ignoring her tiny claws digging into his skin.. "Two more to the wolf pack?"

Suzy nodded, smiling softly. She whispered.

"_Six…"_


	6. Uncivil behaviour

Chapter six

Uncivil behaviour

Didn't your mummy teach you to be nice to girls?

Alex sat in silence, huddled up next to Suzy in the back corner of the school bus. The remainder of the back row was unoccupied- totally empty and sprinkled with a thin layer of dust which had accumulated day-to-day. As first on the bus, Alex always claimed his seat in the back corner- therefore leaving it inhabitable to any and all who were not his blood-relations.

He rested his left arm across the low back of the seat and around Suzy's neck, hugging her gently toward him. Being thin and small as she was, she fitted comfortably in her pocket with her head on Alex's shoulder, safe from the rest of the world between him and the window; that was how she liked it. She didn't desire any other's presence.

Two seats ahead and on the opposite side, Thomas sat next to another guy his age. Black beanie and headphones hanging around his neck. They chatted away idly, laughing on occasion. Still- Thomas checked over his shoulder every so-often to glance at his siblings, raising them a brief smile before returning to his friend.

Every few minutes, one bold student would brave a glance over his or her shoulder, wondering for the brief moment they managed to glimpse Alex's face. Wondering as to the discoloured burn painting his face, dividing it subtly into two tones. It took a few glances though to identify the slight difference. Only one student originally had noticed, and it took his insistence to persuade the others that there was, in fact, a mark of some kind.

It was widely suspected the Blacks were Johtosians. Their shared thin, sharp features and slightly darker skin tone placed them apart from the Sinnovians, who tended to be a paler, medium toned people. This made them a target for bullies when they first integrated from primary school into college… well, for a while, anyway. Alex and Thomas quickly sorted that out between them. On Alex- the burn was barely noticeable at distance, and others didn't usually get close enough that they would realise. It wasn't that Alex disliked other being near him- he didn't mind at all, but others disliked being near _him._

Upon arriving at school, Alex and Thomas set off to P.E.: first class of Tuesday. Alex and Thomas both destroyed all competition in the mile run- breezing through in five minutes for the both of them and smashing the competition without effort. While Thomas revelled in his victory with his peers, riding his success wave through every task and exercise throughout the lesson, gaining a little more momentum with every record he smashed, Alex used his own roll to lie through the rest of the hour- using his victory as an excuse to sit back and do shit all nothing. When his teacher finally nagged at him and demanded he do something- he surrendered.

He stood up, walked to a javelin nearby and picked it up. He weighed it in his right hand a few times, feeling for the balance; turned right around facing the opposite direction to the designated throw zone, and heaved it. The great spear whistled through the air like a bullet, whizzing on a near-dead-straight locus, and with a dull _thunk_, buried itself in the side of a nearby tree, twenty metres up. Alex left the throw zone with a smirk, patting his awestruck teacher on the back as he passed. He returned to a patch of shade, sat down, and wasn't bothered for the rest of the lesson.

The real problem came second period- chemistry.

"Fuck, I hate titres…" He muttered as he fiddled with a lever on the side of a burette, twiddling it with a faint grin. However much titres annoyed him- he still enjoyed the entire process. The chemicals, the reactions, fizzing- it was all great entertainment. Beside him, Suzy glanced up with a scowl. She put a finger to her lips, and shook her head disapprovingly.

"Alex, test conditions." Ms Maryland sighed as she approached him from behind. She lifted the bridge of her safety glasses onto her nose again and glanced over his shoulder, inspecting his experiment. "Alex- you're using the wrong indicator."

"Aaw, fuck!" He slammed both fists into the countertop, shaking it all the way along and alerting half-a-dozen students. He laughed a bit seeing them all glare at him.

"Language." She tutted- yet again. "Test conditions. No speaking."

"I hate tests." He commented just as Ms Maryland turned around. He grinned a little as she turned back with a sigh. It was fun irritating her.

"Alex, stop." She warned using her serious tone.

"I'm expressing my opinions." He stated simply, turning toward his teacher. She was much more fun than that titres. "This is a free country- I'm entitled to express my opinions, so I will so when I please."

"This is my class." Ms Maryland said sweetly, pacing slowly closer to Alex with a pleasant smile. Still in the same, honey-glazed tone: "This is _my_ classroom- this is _my_ country, and this isn't a democracy. What I say goes- got that?" Alex chuckled once she finished, slapping the desk with one hand. He completely disregarded the fact that the entire class had stopped their assessments, and was staring at him.

"I'll overthrow your ass in a second." He said once he had finished with his laugh, grinning pleasantly.

"Hey, what's going on?" Both redirected their attention to a boy approaching with a scowl. "Miss- you gave me a detention last time I spoke in an assessment- he's ripping you out and you haven't done shit."

Ms Maryland spun back to Alex with a frown. He smiled wider and gestured to her. He dared her, making a "bring it on" motion with one hand. "I was getting to that." She said, placing her hands on her hips and standing tall. "Detention. Here. Three PM sharp. Bring paper and a pen."

"Can't make it." Alex yawned, shrugging. "Got shit to do."

"I'm sure you'll find time." Ms Maryland said with a lovely smile.

"Nah." He shook his head. "Schedule's full. I have better things to do."

Ms Maryland bit her lip, and she stepped closer, into his face. "_Alex…" _She whispered, glancing around to make sure everybody was getting back to work. They got the message, and returned to their experiments as she glared at them. She turned back to Alex. "_I know you're attention deficit, but that's no excuse for your behaviour_."

"Attention deficit?" Alex cackled, slapping the counter uncontrollably as he roared in laughter. "Oh, god! You're killing me, miss." He eased out of his laughing fit as the class stared again. "I'm not attention deficit." He said with an equally pleasant smile. "I'm just criminally insane."

"You're criminally insane?" Ms Maryland crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, not believing him for a second. "Really."

"He is, miss." She glanced to her side as another boy appeared next to her, nodding. "His first year at school, he broke both Michael Webley's arms with his bare hands." The boy glanced at Alex warily, suddenly stepping back as Alex smiled at him.

"Good times…" He recalled, grinning wider at the memory. Ms Maryland stared at him for a moment longer- a few fractal memories rising to the surface. A boy a few years back _did_ break another's arms, but she couldn't piece together the name. She was trying to remember as she stared at Alex- but something interrupted her train of thought. She moved a little closer to Alex, cocking her head.

"What happened to your face?"

"Nothing." Alex answered a little too quickly, but upheld his grin as always. "I left the handle of the pan sticking out- hit it as I passed. A little nasty." He caught Suzy glimpsing at him as he spoke, suddenly a little nervous. She coughed a little and headed to the front of the room for more hydrochloric acid.

"_Really_?" Ms Maryland shook her head- by this point she knew she couldn't just trust anything Alex said… and she had heard rumours. Rumours about his family- everyone knew them. Everyone knew who his dad was and what he did. _"Alex… did your dad do this?"_

"Oh, nah." He shook his head. "Why would he?"

"_Alex…"_ She placed a hand on his shoulder, gripping it lightly and whispering. _"You can tell me. I can sort this out."_

"Nothing happened." Alex maintained levelly.

"_Alex, I know when you're lying to me-"_

"That's enough." Ms Maryland gasped as Alex's hand flew from his side, and his fingers wrapped around her throat. "_Listen to me and listen good."_ He hissed quietly, lifting his teacher clear off the ground by her throat and bringing her to face him closely. She coughed and kicked out against him, but her attacks did nothing to him- as if he were made of stone. _"If you say anything- __anything__ that implicates Jarod- he's going to hurt a lot of Pokémon."_ He paused for a moment, and bore into her eyes with his stare, letting his words sink in as Ms Maryland continued to struggle. The class stood petrified, staring in shock. _"I don't want those Pokémon hurt, kapeesh? If those Pokémon get hurt- you're going to get hurt, understand? And I know where you live."_ He released her with a shove. She fell backwards as her feet made contact, and her lifeless legs crumpled under her.

Alex ignored her and went back to his experiment, smiling once again at all the colours. Ms Maryland staggered to her feet, gasping for air, and stumbled away from Alex.

It took a moment of awkward staring, but Suzy eventually managed to work up the nerve to approach Alex. She tapped his shoulder, and he turned to her. "Yeah?" He asked.

Suzy looked at him sideways, concerned even. She placed her hands on either side of his head, and tilted it down to face her. _"Your pills…" _She shook her head, backing up quickly. _"You didn't…"_

"I'm fine without them." Alex lied, and went back to his work. Inside- he hid a grimace. The effect was extreme, and it was already taking him over… his medication last night had already worn off. Barely thirteen hours, and it had already worn off…

And _damn_ it felt good.

Rather than spend interval in the library with Suzy, Alex changed course for the day- heading for the school gym. While Suzy sat alone and silent in the library, Alex worked out an indiscernible rage upon a poor punching bag in the gym, hammering away at it without remorse or pause for a solid fifteen minutes. He forwent traditional boxing gloves, and instead fired bare-handed jabs at the thing; subsequently ripping up and bloodying his knuckles on the firm surface and stitching.

He drew some attention from time-to-time. Every few minutes a new student would arrive. They would watch him from a distance for a little, wondering what he was doing, then spend a few more minutes waiting from him to tire out. When it became apparent he wasn't slowing up, they would quickly vacate the area.

It was great fun for Alex. It was an awesome feeling- how he could unleash every slight, tiny thought that came to mind through physicality and force- detonating everything behind it into something so much stronger. Over the fifteen minutes- he felt it all. Anger, joy, jealousy, sadness- he flew through a massive range of emotions, launching the feeling behind each at the punching bag with colossal force.

He was so alive. He had never felt so good in so long- he could _feel_ so much! Those tiny pangs that were once joys, hopes, grievances- they all blew up, inflating. Small, insignificant twinges finally grew, and developed into emotions. Emotions supressed and kept at bay for so long… he convinced himself: he was never going back on his medication now. Not after he tasted what it was like to be free of it…

The bell rang soon after he stopped- and still sweating-he picked up his school bag and dawdled away to art class. Even as he reached the opposite side of the school grounds and headed late into art, his chest still heaved, and energy coursed through his veins still.

As usual, his mind quickly wandered from the task at hand. Rather than focussing on painting the Scyther standing at the front of the room, Alex made a quick sketch with his pencil, then went about his own business on a second piece of paper.

His teacher always made a habit of checking his work, and it wasn't long before he arrived at Alex's table. He approached from behind- his wide figure obscuring the fluorescent ceiling light lighting Alex's page. Alex sat back in his chair with an irritated grunt, but refused to look over his shoulder.

"You're in my light." Alex said, but helpfully rather than unpleasantly. Nearly everything he said was pleasant to an extent- whether it was mockingly so or genuine.

"And you're off task." His art teacher replied, calm and low.

"Done." Alex grabbed his sketch from the table and held it over his shoulder, half-scrunched in a balled fist. His teacher took it with a grumble, and inspected it briefly as Alex returned to his own devices.

"Alex, the task is _painting._" He sighed, scratching the back of his balding grey head. "Is this painting?"

"You're the art teacher, Mr Merlin. You tell _me_." Alex replied with equal calm, undisturbed still in his work.

Mr Merlin glanced over Alex's shoulder again, checking his new interest. His eyebrow raised curiously, and he reached for the page. Alex spotted his it, and jerked the paper away from the prying hand. He threw a questioning glance over his shoulder at Mr Merlin, fixing his own on Merlin's eyes. Merlin paused for a moment, exchanging silent messages with Alex in their stalemate.

"Can I see it?" He asked eventually. Alex glanced back at his page. He stared at it for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright." He passed it over his shoulder.

Mr Merlin took the page and held it taught between his hands, right before his face. The entire thing was a mess of what at first appeared to be meaningless scribbles. But upon closer inspection, Mr Merlin noticed something curious about the shapes and figures. "Unknowns." He murmured, turning the page around and reading it from different angles. Unknowns- the Pokémon. Letter-like in appearance normally. "Unknown calligraphy? How curious…" He placed the paper on the desk beside Alex, leaning over it. "What dialect is this? I've never seen it before… it's most intricate. The strokes, the penmanship- it's exquisite." In fact, it was so detailed he couldn't even understand any of it.

"No idea." Alex shrugged, and slid the paper back to his reach, and put his pencil to it again. "I just see shapes and figures in my head, so I draw them."

"You see unknown calligraphy in your head?" Mr Merlin shook his head quickly, a little sceptical about the entire idea. "A dialect you don't even understand, no less?"

"I…" Alex grumbled a little, deciding on how sensitive the matter was to him. "I understand it."

"Then what does it say?" Merlin asked, suddenly curious of the whole thing. He had spent half a year in university studying unknown, but he had never seen this dialect- especially someone who could write so precisely and with such detail and elegance.

"It isn't a sentence." Alex explained, smiling again as he always would. "It's rather… a scene."

"Like a picture?"

"Like an animated picture." Alex added, pointing to the middle of the page. "It's like binary code for a computer. All the symbols come together, and as I read I feel a mental picture develop- like it's code for a movie."

"You... can?" Merlin nearly babbled now, dumbstruck by the entire idea.

"Yeah. It's cool." Alex added. "Well- I mean, not this code, specifically… not cool. It isn't too pleasant at all. Rather gruesome. Painful. But the ability's interesting."

"Very well." Merlin said. It was all he could think to say. He turned and paced away quickly, mind engaged by bafflement at Alex's explanation. What he suggested shouldn't have been possible- or at least, it should require the I.Q. of a genius to be possible.

Alex turned back to his page now. He flipped the paper over to the blank side and readied a pencil in both hands.

He blinked. His mind flushed- only for a brief moment. He saw it- he saw a vision. Black clouds, mountains, ash everywhere, littering the landscape. A cold wind blew, sweeping a fine sprinkling off the surface of the dust and tossing it into the air. He knew it was a cold wind- he could _feel_ it was cold. The itch of dust even tickled his nose for a fleeting moment. Not even a fraction of a second later, his eyes flicked open, and the vision disappeared. It only took the space in time to blink for him to watch the entire vision in his head- seemingly moving at super-speed through his mind- yet when he replayed it in his memory, it lasted minutes. Minutes of information, picture-perfect in quality all absorbed and decoded in his mind in bare milliseconds. Then, in the millisecond after that, he translated it all into unknown symbols.

His hands both moved, disappearing into a seemingly erratic pattern of movement. His two pencils slashed and scribbled across the page at lightning speed, untraceable to the human eye. The page quickly grew a mess of white and black. He moved so fast, the lines seemed to appear from nowhere and grow as he scribbled. At the end of one minute, he had transcribed the whole scene in its entirety- completely filling the page with symbols.

He blinked again as he sat back with a smirk at his handiwork. More information still flooded his mind as his eyes shut, never-ending in its flood, begging to be transcribed. He had gotten used to it, however. When one witnessed what Alex saw every time they closed their eyes, they quickly learned to ignore a lot of it. There was a time he had been concerned about his entire situation- but that was long ago. He experienced the visions from an age of twelve.

Twelve. That was an interesting age for Alex. That age was when everything began to change. He just changed over the year. The year he fought that kid who bullied Suzy and him. That year his hair changed colour. That year he was put on his medication. That year that he began dreaming like he did.

"-Alex." Alex's eyes flicked open, bringing him back from his new scene of fire and to the real world. He heard his name. He swept his eyes around the room left-to-right, and they fell upon Haley. She stood at the door to the art room, beside Mr Merlin and pointing at Alex. Mr Merlin nodded slowly, and closed the door behind her. He went back to searching about the students' work while Haley headed for Alex.

"Alex, the principal wants to see you." She said as she stopped in front of his desk. She smiled- but her lips twitched with a brief moment of fear as he stood.

"Even you're scared of me." He remarked blandly, standing motionlessly behind his desk and inclining his head. "Am I really that menacing?" He said to himself, pushing his chair in and walking around Haley towards the door. He didn't hear her make an attempt to answer, so he just continued on.

He made his way out of the classroom and into the corridor. He savoured his last warmth as he neared the outside door, slowing his stride as he approached, then picked up his pace again as he exited into the blistering wind. It was definitely a winter wind. A summer wind never had that "winter wind-chill" factor that was so unique to its respective season.

Johto typically was a more extreme climate than Sinnoh. Snow flurries and searing heat were both trademarks of Johto weather. This is where more speculation arose to the Black's ethnicity. It was a subtle thing, barely noticed, but the Blacks seemed more resilient to the heat and cold than other students. Alex and Suzy, not so much, but Thomas was never seen wearing a coat or jacket. He bore the full brunt of the winter seemingly without any problem. He would laugh others' "Johto" speculations- passing off their low tolerance as weakness. Alex did feel the cold a little, and wore a jacket when appropriate.

He crossed the desolate pavement with hands in pockets, blowing cold breaths as he walked quickly. As he glanced about, he noticed the absence of others' presence, but paid no mind to it and continued on.

He hurried up the steps leading to the office, sighing as he went. The door handle felt colder than usual as he wrapped his fingers around it, and he paused on it.

Alex had mixed emotions on his principle, and he took a deep breath in preparation. Anything could happen after he went through that door- especially with him as he was at the moment. Somebody could get hurt…

He did the usual, and shoved all rational thought– or what little of it he had- aside, and pushed open the office door. As he stepped in and shut it behind him, he was immediately enveloped in a comforting warmth. Yet, as welcoming as it was, the place hung with a certain uniform staleness. Bleak and depressing. He found it a little funny for some reason, and chuckled a little as he headed down the corridor towards the end.

"Hey." He stopped as he passed a door. A teacher's brow furrowed as she leaned back on her seat, glancing at him out her open doorway. "No students are allowed unauthorized access. Go to the door, knock, and then someone will be with you."

"What is this, a fucking prison or something?" He laughed and continued, disregarding the teacher's suggestion. "It's cold out."

He headed straight for the end of the corridor with a mutter, psyching himself a little. The opaque window revealed nothing behind, but the words "Principal Johnson" were stencilled across the bottom in black.

"Once more." He sighed, balling his fists briefly at his sides, then releasing his grin with an exhalation. "Unto the breach…" He stood tall, took his last breath of freedom, and opened the door.

He stepped in quickly and closed the door particularly loudly behind him. A man facing away spun in his chair at the noise. His wrinkled face seemed to tighten a little at the sight of Alex, and his eyes narrowed a little.

Alex was on it first. "Kyle, my favourite principal!" He greeted his principal with open arms, strolling invincibly into the centre of the room with a mirthful smirk. "How are you, you sick fuck?" His smile dissipated instantly, souring to a look of venom.

"Watch it." Mr Johnson warned darkly, drumming his wrinkled fingers on the table. He appeared older than he was- looks were deceptive.

"So what's this about?" Alex dropped himself into the chair opposite and leaned back lazily in it. "Choking Ms Maryland this morning or lighting that guy on fire yesterday?"

"What?" My Johnson jerked a little uncomfortably in his chair at the first mention. "You what?"

"I only choked her a little bit." Alex added quickly, making a "teeny-weeny" gesture with his forefinger and thumb. Mr Johnson grumbled and his brow furrowed as he looked down to his papers.

"Reese Jacobs was transferred to the emergency ward yesterday." He read from the paper, then placed it on the desk in front of him, looking to Alex with his arms crossed. "You wouldn't know-"

"I just said: I did it." Alex yawned. "He was writing on my bag. Yeah- I did it."

"Your behaviour is unacceptable, Alex." He grumbled, staring back at Alex. "I've overlooked your inattention in class, but _lighting people on fire?_ Strangling you teacher? You're out of line!" He slammed his fist onto his desk, leaning across it with a scowl.

"I'm out of line?" Alex laughed, and leaned across too, meeting his principal eye-to-eye with a grin. "At least I'm not a poképhilliac rapist." He retorted calmly as he lowered himself back into his seat. He crossed his arms and slouched a little, comfortable with his position.

"Stop acting up." Johnson growled, settling back into his seat also. "Listen Alex- I've tried being reasonable, but you won't listen. Keep this up, and I'm ringing your father."

"My father is dead." Alex fell silent afterwards, giving his message time to sink in. He leaned forwards and placed his elbows on the desk. His eyes froze, fixing on the man in front of him intently and narrowing. "He's long gone." He whispered. "His soul died a long time ago. I see no man in him."

"I don't want to listen to your metaphysical bullshit." Johnson snorted. "Stop it, or Jarod hears about this." Alex grumbled a little as they stared down for a second more, then sat back.

"Do you think he cares?"

"I know he doesn't care. But I know he can make your life difficult." Johnson sat back and crossed his arms behind his head with a smug grin. Alex's eyes flashed in anger, growing tighter as his lips formed a snarl.

"I wouldn't…" He warned. Hidden from view behind the desk, his hand slipped into his pocket. "Because I can make your life so much worse." His hand slipped from his pocket, balled around something.

"I don't think you'd like to take that chance." Johnson advised calmly, maintaining the same level as he spoke and still holding eye contact confidently.

Alex grinned a little. It was only a small one, but a smile nonetheless. He leaned forwards, secretly holding the object under the lip of the desk. "I already have." He whispered.

They both stared for a moment. At first their smiles upheld, neither holding the upper hand. Then- as a thin trail of smoke drifted up and around Alex's chin, Johnson's smile turned upside down. Alex smirked wider and slid away from the desk as the edge flickered, and a tongue of flame burst from the surface.

Johnson leapt from his chair after the moment it took him to realise what happened, and dived for the fire extinguisher on the wall behind him. Alex chuckled and replaced the lighter in his pocket, and strode towards the principal's door with a warm feeling of satisfaction. As he stepped through the doorway, he felt the flicker explode and the heat sweep across him. The powder he had evasively sprinkled on the desk had lit. Fire stone shavings- highly combustible, and a key ingredient in high-grade pyrotechnics. When they went up-they _went up._

He left the door open and strode for the end doorway, letting the prying teachers see what was going on behind him. "You better get used to burning, Mr Johnson." Alex called gleefully over his shoulder just as he left. "Where I'm going to send you- there's going to be a _"hell" _of a lot of it." His eyes shimmered in delight at the distant roar of a fireball. His grin twitched helplessly at the corners of his lips at the sound of panicking teachers, and at the commotion of fire alarms wailing into life. It was a beautiful melody.

He stopped just outside the office building, taking a deep, icy breath. The frigid sting of cold mixed with the sweet, ashen taste of smoke. It was a heavenly cocktail to his tastebuds, and he savoured it for a long moment. He turned around one last time to watch the chaos, revelling in its beauty and how it played its hand. His eyes ignited too, catching fire in the reflection and blazing with a blissful golden light- and he turned and left. He turned to the left, and he strode back to class as if nothing had happened…


End file.
